


Power Rangers: Diamond

by hebitsukai_mega



Series: Power Rangers [1]
Category: Power Rangers, SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Action/Adventure, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-08
Updated: 2017-04-08
Packaged: 2018-10-16 12:54:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10571736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hebitsukai_mega/pseuds/hebitsukai_mega
Summary: In the city of Angel Grove, California six teenagers discover the mystical Gosei Diamonds, which contain the spirits of great Mystic Beasts that once roamed the world.  Harnessing the power of these Diamonds seems to be the only way to defeat an alien empire that has just arrived on Earth's doorstep, hell bent on conquering the planet





	1. Day of the Diamond

Seungcheol absentmindedly tapped his fingers to the beat of his favorite song as he watched trees go by through the car window. He and his family were on their way to Stone Canyon for their vacation and honestly he couldn’t be more excited. What could be better than spending some quality time with his mom, dad, younger brother and four best friends before the school year started?

“We’re almost there you guys,” his dad’s voice broke through the music from his headphones, causing him to pause it just as his brother Vernon was stirring out of his sleep.

“What’d you say dad?” he sleepily asked, rubbing his eyes.

“I said we’re almost to Stone Canyon,”

“This is gonna be such an awesome trip, don’t you think so Seungcheol?” Vernon’s eyes widened excitedly, getting a chuckle from Seungcheol who affectionately ruffled the younger boy’s hair.

“I couldn’t agree more bro,”

Unlike the stereotype of teenagers that the media loved to push, Seungcheol actually loved his family more than anything. His dad was a lawyer and even had his own private practice and his mother was an anchor for the Channel 13 nightly news back home in Angel Grove. Their combined success is what got Seungcheol an invitation to enroll at Angel Grove Preparatory Academy; one of the best schools in the entire United States. To say that he’d been blessed with opportunities since he was a child would be an understatement. Most boys his age could only dream of going to such an amazing school, but for Seungcheol it was an everyday reality.

It wasn’t long before Seungcheol’s dad’s SUV was pulling into the campsite at the entrance to the forest along the canyon’s edge. Seungcheol could hardly contain his excitement when he saw the four other vehicles there; his friends had already arrived! They’d all been so busy with summer activities that they hadn’t really seen each other since the last day of school almost four full months earlier.

Seungcheol and Vernon hopped out of the SUV and started helping their dad unload the supplies while their mom started to mingle with the other moms. The two boys and their dad carried the stuff to the actual campground and began setting it all up.

“Well look at the two big strong men setting up camp. I suppose I could lend a hand,” 

Seungcheol turned around at the sound of the familiar voice and a smile wider than Stone Canyon itself stretched across his face. Standing behind him in a designer tracksuit was none other than Yoon Jeonghan. His ethereal features had grown even sharper since the last time they’d seen each other, and his long black hair was pulled into a ponytail with seemingly new hot pink highlights adorning the small amount cupping the left side of his face. He was honestly so beautiful that Seungcheol always questioned whether or not he should even be allowed to go to an all-boys school; although he was incredibly thankful that he was.

“Jeonghan! It’s so good to see you! Are the other guys here yet?”

“Yeah. Joshua, Mingyu and Jun are out gathering up firewood, they just sent me back to see if you and Vernon had made it yet,” Jeonghan explained.

“Awesome! Hey dad, can I go with Jeonghan to get firewood?” Seungcheol asked, making his most convincing puppy dog face.

“Yeah go ahead Seungcheol, your brother and I can finish up here,” his dad agreed and Seungcheol and Jeonghan almost immediately took off into the woods. They walked in silence for a while, just enjoying the serenity of their surroundings. Jeonghan’s voice was what broke the silence.

“So what’ve you been up to this summer?” he asked.

“I started teaching a weekend taekwondo class at the Youth Center. It’s been a lot of fun actually. What about you? Anything exciting?”

“I’ve just been training for the big gymnastics competition in December. If I do well enough I could earn a scholarship. It seems that we’ve all been busy this summer; Mingyu’s been working on his comic book series, Joshua’s been designing a video game and Jun’s started volunteering at the animal shelter,”

“We’re always busy,” Seungcheol chuckled, “But I’m glad we’ve all found something we’re into,”

It wasn’t long before Seungcheol and Jeonghan found their friends, standing next to a small river.

“Check this out you guys,” the tall, tan skinned one said with a smile, showing off his slightly fanged canine teeth, “I’m Aquaman, defender of the deep!” 

The other boys couldn’t help but giggle a bit as he took a large piece of wood and pretended it was a trident, slamming it into the ground with an over the top pose.

“You’re a shithead Mingyu,” Jeonghan said, still giggling, alerting the other three boys to him and Seungcheol’s presence.

“Seungcheol you’re here!” Mingyu ran over and pulled Seungcheol into an incredibly tight hug. Joshua and Jun weren’t far behind, causing an impromptu group hug.

“It’s great to see you guys! Why don’t we do some exploring, I’ve been wanting to see Stone Canyon since I was just a kid, we can collect the firewood on the way back,” Seungcheol suggested. There was a collective murmur of agreement before they walked off along the riverbank.

“I saw a flier downtown for your Taekwondo class Seungcheol, I was even thinking of coming before I started working on my game,” Joshua spoke softly as usual, “I’d love to learn some moves from you,”

“You’re welcome to drop by whenever you want Joshua, you know that,” Seungcheol said, just as they reached the end of the river, where it dropped off into the canyon itself.

“Holy shit,” Jun’s jaw dropped as the boys stood on the edge of Stone Canyon. A steady mist rose from the interior; clearly there was quite a bit of water down there, probably from the various rivers running off into it. It was a beautiful sight to behold… and then the ground started to shake. Before any of the boys could react, the damp ground beneath their feet gave way to a landslide, sending them tumbling down the canyon’s rocky slope. There was a long string of curse words and pained grunts as they slid down before plummeting into the water below. 

Seungcheol fought hard to keep his head above water; one of his legs was clearly broken and the sheer pain was nearly too much to handle. He could see a small cave a short distance away, close enough to swim to even in his current state.

“Guys, try to make it to that cave over there!” He desperately called.

“I, I can’t! I t-think my ribs are broken!” Joshua screamed, slipping beneath the water’s surface for a moment, only to be pulled back up by Jun, who himself was wincing in pain from some unseen injury of his own.

“Hang in there Josh, we’re gonna be okay,” he mumbled, pulling Joshua along as they all made a dash for the cave. Once they were inside they weakly pulled themselves up onto the rocky embankment. Seungcheol laid flat on his back, trying to catch his breath and ignore the incessant, overwhelming pain from his leg.

“I hate California,” Mingyu breathlessly grunted, “Landslides, earthquakes, wildfires… why does the universe hate this state?”

“How are we gonna make it back to the campsite? We’re gonna die down here!” Jeonghan hysterically cried.

“No we’re not,” Seungcheol spoke up, reaching for the stalagmite closest to him. He got a good grip on it and tried to pull himself up, but it immediately cracked in half, sending him crashing back down to the hard cave floor. As the stalagmite’s tip clattered down next to his face, something else came with it; a glowing, red gemstone unlike anything he’d ever seen. It had a semi-hypnotic quality to it, drawing him in and nearly forcing him to grasp it. It felt warm in his hand, almost as if it had a heartbeat. As he closed it in his palm, he felt an incredible electric shock. He tried to release it but he couldn’t, allowing the energy to surge through his body, making his entire body go numb.

“Seungcheol, are you okay!?” Mingyu moved to his side as quickly as he could manage, “Seungcheol?”

“I… I’m okay. Guys, I’m okay! My leg feels better now!” Seungcheol couldn’t believe it. Somehow the gem had healed his broken leg!

“No way, let me see that!” Jun snatched the stone from him, “Nothing, my wrist is still fucked up,”

Seungcheol shrugged as Jun tossed the gem back to him. He stood up and walked over to one of the other stalagmites, experimentally snapping off the tip. Sure enough there was another glowing gem inside, but this one was blue.

“These things are all over the place, here Joshua, see if this helps your ribs,” Seungcheol carried the gem over to Joshua who weakly took it into his hand. His body seized up and his eyes widened for a brief moment, but then he sat up.

“It… it worked! It healed me! Jun, find another one!” Joshua shrieked in excitement. Jun jumped up from his sitting position and kicked off the tip of the stalagmite closest to him. A yellow gem fell out, which he instantly grabbed. His body locked and forced him back down to the floor, but a few seconds later he slowly stood up.

“Well I’ll be damned… it’s true, these things really can heal people! We could make so much money off this! We’ve gotta see if there are any more!” Jun started running around the cave, destroying stalagmites left and right. Unfortunately he only managed to find two more gems, a green one and a pink one. Jeonghan grabbed the pink one and went through a similar reaction to the other boys. Mingyu took the green one and went through the same thing; were these things magical or something?

“Alright you guys. We need to find a way back up to the canyon’s edge,” Seungcheol said, looking around the spacious interior of the cave.

“Well clearly we can’t just climb the canyon wall. No one here is Spider-Man… although it would be incredibly awesome if someone was,” Mingyu spoke up.

“Maybe if we go deeper into the cave we’ll find a way out,” Joshua suggested.

“It’s worth a shot, let’s go guys,” Seungcheol waved for the others to follow him as he walked farther into the cave. They continued for a while in silence before they arrived at what looked like the boarded up entrance to an old mine shaft. It made sense that it was there; Stone Canyon was one of the most well-known gold mining locations during the gold rush, “This is perfect, this mine shaft has to lead back to the surface,”

Jun kicked his way through the wooden boards and the boys walked through. As they trudged through the incredibly dark shaft, Seungcheol caught glimpses of abandoned mine carts and pick axes, making the area feel like a historical snapshot. 

“This is rally freaking me out; how do we know we’re even going the right way?” Jeonghan said, his voice bouncing off the walls.

“We don’t… we’ll just have to have faith,” Joshua replied, slinging his arm around Jeonghan’s shoulder and pulling him closer.

“So what do you guys think we should do about the gems?” Jun asked, clearly trying to distract himself from his own fear of the situation, “We could make so much money off these things,”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea Jun,” Mingyu interjected, “We’re all already pretty well off, do we really need more money? Besides, these things could be alien or supernatural in nature. Just passing them off for money could be a huge mistake. What if they fall into the wrong hands, what if…”

“Oh Mingyu would you stop it,” Jeonghan groaned, “This is not a comic book okay? These gems aren’t some kind of supernatural force from the great beyond and it’s not our responsibility to ‘protect them from the forces of evil’ or some bullshit like that. This is real life and if these things are in fact dangerous, it would be best to just get them out of our hands and out of our lives for good,”

“Stop talking like aliens aren’t real Jeonghan! Are you seriously forgetting the Angel Grove Invasion of 1998?”

“Mingyu come on, you sound like one of those conspiracy theorists online. Aliens did not attack Angel Grove, it was a terrorist attack. Everyone knows that. We’ve never seen any evidence of life beyond earth and these gems certainly aren’t proof that aliens exist,”

“I’ve gotta agree with Jeonghan,” Seungcheol added, “I’m pretty sure these things aren’t alien or supernatural. They’re probably just really rare, or maybe they’re radioactive or something,”

“Whatever, you guys can call me crazy or whatever you want, but these gems are special and I feel like we should hold onto them,” Mingyu retorted.

“Whatever, we can fight about this later, I can see a light up ahead!” Joshua chimed in, startling Seungcheol a bit since he couldn’t see him very well and he hadn’t said anything in a while. Seungcheol soon saw the light too and started moving toward it faster. When they reached it Jeonghan pulled down the wooden barriers and they stepped out into the somewhat familiar looking wilderness.

“We made it, we’re actually gonna live!” Jeonghan smiled widely and pulled Seungcheol into a hug. Seungcheol wasn’t sure what the gems they found were, nor was he expecting his day to end up the way it had. But what he was thankful for was that everyone was okay and they’d be seeing their parents again.

Little did he or any of the others know that their lives were about to be changed forever…


	2. Destiny Decoded

“Hey look, it’s the guys, they’re back!” Vernon excitedly called, pointing to the forests’ edge as Seungcheol, Joshua, Mingyu, Jun and Jeonghan stumbled closer to the campsite. Their feet were sore, their clothes ripped and covered with dirt from the mineshaft; in short, they looked like absolute crap. Their parents rushed over to greet them, happy to see that they were okay after being gone for so long.

“What happened to you guys? You were gone for hours! And where’s the firewood?” Jeonghan’s mom wondered, trying to wipe the smudges off Jeonghan’s face with her thumb.

“It’s… it’s a very long and complicated story,” Seungcheol said, shaking his head. He wasn’t sure whether or not they should mention the existence of the gems to their parents or not, so he decided to just keep it to himself for the time being, “Basically we got caught in a landslide and were banged up a bit,”

“Well what’s important is that you boys are okay,” Jun’s dad chimed in, “We’ll be okay without the extra firewood for now,” 

The boys sat down around the campfire Vernon had built and sighed in relief at being off their feet. Mingyu’s dad brought each of them a plate of food and some water. The boys scarfed down their food like they’d never eaten before; Seungcheol hadn’t realized just how hungry he was. The entire time he was eating, he felt the gem in his pocket heating up; he could even see its red glow through his jeans.

“Seungcheol, your gem,” Jeonghan whispered.

“I know I see it, but I don’t know what’s going on with it,”

“Wait,” Jeonghan glanced down at his own pocket for a moment, “Mine is doing it too,”

“Your gems are acting weird too?” Mingyu leaned in, “Mine is heating up like crazy in my pocket!”

“Alright I’m calling it. Tonight after our parents fall asleep we’re heading back down into the cave and putting these things right back where we found them,” Seungcheol said.

“But Seungcheol!” Mingyu and Jun whisper-shouted simultaneously.

“No buts, it’s final,”

Mingyu and Jun folded their arms and pouted, but Seungcheol refused to change his mind. It was a terrible idea to take the gems in the first place and now they were just gonna take them back to where they belonged and forget they existed.  
….

Seungcheol opened one eye after pretending to be asleep for about an hour. Vernon was finally sleeping (and snoring incessantly) and Seungcheol could finally sneak out with the other boys to return the gems to their proper location. He slowly crawled out of him and Vernon’s shared tent and into the night air. He slipped on his sneakers and made his way over to Jeonghan and Joshua’s tent.

“Guys come on, it’s time to do this,” he said just loud enough for them to hear. It was only a few moments before they came out of the tent and Joshua immediately went to get Jun and Mingyu. Jeonghan yawned and fished his glowing pink gem out of the pocket of his sweatpants. The glow looked even brighter in the darkness of the night and the way it reflected off Jeonghan’s flawless skin made him look even more like an angel than he usually did.

“Why do you think these things started to glow and heat up? Do you think it’s because we moved them?” Jeonghan wondered, still transfixed by the gem’s beauty.

“I’m not sure, but I’m still certain that we just need to take them back and forget about them,” Seungcheol replied just as Joshua returned with Jun and Mingyu. 

“Let’s get this over with,” Mingyu sighed as they started walking off into the woods, using their phones as flashlights. Seungcheol was surprised that he wasn’t having any trouble remembering the way to the mine shaft; it was almost like there was someone guiding him in his mind. The closer the boys got to the mine shaft, the brighter their gems glowed.

“Holy shit… look at that!” Jun pointed up ahead to the mine shaft’s entrance, where a faint white light could be seen emanating from the dark tunnel. The group stopped in their tracks, unsure of whether or not to continue.

“Do you think someone’s down there? Maybe there are people searching for more of the gems… should we just go back to camp?” Joshua asked no one in particular, the nervous edge evident in his voice.

“I think we should go ahead,” Jeonghan’s eyes were locked on the tunnel entrance, “Something about that light is intoxicating,”

“I agree. We need to get rid of these things,” Seungcheol clutched the warm red gem tightly in his hand and steeled his nerves, “Let’s go,”

With that, the five boys continued down into the mine shaft toward the white light. Once they arrived at the end of the mine shaft and stepped out into the cave, they came face to face with the source of the light; a beautiful young woman with skin as white and bright as the moon itself. It was clear that she was supernatural in nature; nothing of the natural world could be that awe inspiring. Long black hair draped across her shoulders and a pristine white robe covered her entire body. She was floating a few inches above the ground itself, facing the pool of water at the cave’s other entrance.

“I’ve been waiting for you. Those who have found the Gosei Diamonds,” she spoke softly but it sounded as if her voice was coming from all around them at once. The woman turned to face them, revealing her flawless, youthful face. The boys were completely silent, all of them too busy staring in awe to speak or even construct a coherent thought. Jun was the first to finally break the silence.

“You’re… really hot,”

A collective groan sounded from the rest of the group and Seungcheol facepalmed.

“I apologize for our friend. May I ask… who are you, or what are you?” Seungcheol asked, trying to stop the shaking in his voice. He couldn’t help but be nervous considering the fact that he had absolutely no idea what they were dealing with.

“I am Irene, liaison of the Mystic Beasts and guardian of the Gosei Diamonds. I have been in this cave for 1,000 years, waiting for the destined heroes to arrive and discover the Diamonds, thus awakening the sacred powers of Earth’s ancient defenders,” the woman explained.

“What the hell is she talking about?” Jeonghan whispered to Joshua who simply shrugged. Mingyu on the other hand was grinning from ear to ear.

“I told you guys, I freaking told you! These things are special! We were meant to find them, isn’t that right Irene?” he excitedly said, holding up his green gem.

“Right you are Kim Mingyu,” Irene suddenly disappeared before reappearing closer to the boys, hovering right in front of Mingyu, “Your arrival was foreseen by my sisters and I, and I knew that I had to seal the diamonds away so they would be safe,”

“You had sisters? What happened to them?” Joshua was careful with his question, already knowing the answer. Irene looked away for a moment, a pained expression on her face.

“That is a story for another time. For now I must tell you of your destinies,” Irene held out her hands and the gems floated out of the boys’ grip, hovering in front of them, “The Gosei Diamonds contain the spirits of the Mystic Beasts; six guardians of the planet that have existed since the Earth was young. Choi Seungcheol, you have the red diamond which contains the spirit of the Mystic Dragon and commands the element of air. You have a noble heart and the instincts of a leader, matching the dragon flawlessly,”

Seungcheol’s gem returned to him, but this time there was a flash of light and the gem was embedded in a silver bracelet, now wrapped around his wrist. 

“Joshua Hong, you have the blue diamond which contains the spirit of the Mystic Unicorn and commands the element of water. You are a gentle soul and your natural intellect allows you to see the world from a unique perspective that matches well with the unicorn,”

Joshua’s gem appeared on his wrist in the form of a bracelet, much like Seungcheol’s. His face was flushed red; he was clearly flattered by Irene’s words.

“Kim Mingyu, you have the green diamond which contains the spirit of the Mystic Manticore and commands the element of earth. You’re childlike demeanor and pure heart are indeed worthy of the Manticore’s partnership,”

“This is a dream come true,” Mingyu said softly, staring down at his bracelet, “I can’t believe this is happening,”

“Wen Junhui, you have the yellow diamond which contains the spirit of the Mystic Gryphon and commands the element of light. Your confidence and free spirit make you the perfect partner for the soaring gryphon,”

“Okay I’ll admit, this is pretty cool,” Jun leaned a bit closer to Mingyu and whispered, “What’s a gryphon though?”

“Google it dude,” Mingyu quickly replied as Irene turned to face Jeonghan.

“And last but most certainly not least, Yoon Jeonghan. You have the pink diamond which contains the spirit of the Mystic Phoenix and commands the element of fire. Your forceful personality and unshakeable conviction matches well with the stunning phoenix,”

“This is certainly a lot to take in,” Jeonghan experimentally rubbed the bracelet on his wrist, running his thumb over the protruding pink gem, “But wait… didn’t you say there were six Mystic Beasts? Shouldn’t there be another diamond then?”

“There is. But alas it has already been found by its destined warrior. The white diamond contains the spirit of the Mystic Kitsune and commands the power of ice. I have been sworn to secrecy regarding the identity of the Kitsune’s companion. But with all six diamonds recovered by their destined warriors, the guardians of Earth can return… The five of you are the new Power Rangers,” Irene smiled at the boys fondly as she spoke.

“This is insane!” Mingyu ecstatically jumped up and down, “The Power Rangers are like superheroes right? We’re responsible for saving the world now you guys! We’re like the Justice League!”

“Power Rangers,” Seungcheol said softly to himself, staring intently at his bracelet. He couldn’t believe he was truly a part of something so big now.

“To transform into this superhuman fighting force, call upon the spirit of your Mystic Beast companion. The safety of Earth is in your hands now. I will guide you on your path as Rangers, but for now you will be returned to your parents at your campsite,”

“But wait, we have questions!” Seungcheol called, but Irene simply waved her hand. The cave around them shifted and suddenly they were standing in the center of the campsite.

“This is the best thing that’s ever happened to anyone ever!” Mingyu practically squealed, “I’m not gonna sleep for days!”

“I need time to process all of this,” Jeonghan anxiously ran a hand through his hair, “Goodnight you guys,”

The boys returned to their tents and Seungcheol tried his best to sleep. How was he supposed to cope with the fact that he was now responsible for the safety of billions of people? Just a few hours ago his biggest concern was whether or not he’d be playing soccer again this schoolyear. But now he was spiritually connected to a dragon and a part of the new Power Rangers team, destined to protect the world from evil… 

This was merely the beginning of their heroic journey, and the true test was about to begin

…

In the far reaches of space, a massive starship made its way closer to the solar system containing Earth. The ship itself was completely black, except for a massive golden insignia; the insignia of the prolific Dai Empire from Alpha Centauri. The Dai had conquered nearly every planet in their own solar system and now they were closing in on Earth. Sitting on this Imperial Class Warship’s throne was none other than Prince Woozi, the youngest son of Emperor D. 

“Master Woozi, we are nearing the Earth. Shall I prepare the invasion fleet?” a blonde haired soldier, clad in reflective black armor asked. A sword clanked at his side with every step and he stood a bit taller than the prince. While he may have looked to be more intimidating than Woozi, the prince’s reputation proceeded him. There was no one in the Dai Empire, with the exception of the emperor himself, to be more feared than Woozi.

“That will not be necessary Hoshi. I have heard stories of this planet from the former Machine Empire. It seems that they have a team of defenders strong enough to defeat all others that have tried to conquer their world. Before we invade we’ll need to gauge the strength of these warriors,” Woozi reasoned, “But don’t fret, we will invade soon enough and the Dai Empire will have successfully begun its expansion,”

Woozi narrowed his eyes on the holographic galaxy map in front of him as it zoomed in on the planet Earth. It was time to prove that he was worthy of becoming the crown prince and the official heir to his father’s throne…


	3. Morphin' Time

“Come on Seungcheol, we’re gonna be late dude!” Vernon said, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and grabbing an apple out of the oversized bowl on the kitchen table. Seungcheol wasn’t usually the type to be running late, but he completely forgot to set his alarm the night before. What a great way to start the first day back at school. He took a second to straighten his tie and grab his keys off the counter before rushing out the door with Vernon. It wasn’t long before they were on the highway, making their way toward Angel Grove Preparatory Academy.

As he was driving, the sun reflected off the bright red gem on his bracelet. It had been about a week since he found the thing and if it hadn’t been for the other boys’ memories of meeting Irene in the cave, he would’ve sworn it was a dream. They hadn’t seen or heard from Irene at all, and the gems seemed to be pretty powerless. Maybe it was some kind of a dream, or shared hallucination or something?

“Hey bro, what’s that weird bracelet?” Vernon spoke up, almost if he’d been reading Seungcheol’s mind, “I noticed you and the guys were wearing matching ones,”

“They’re uh… just a gift. Something Jun’s parents brought back after their last trip to China,” Seungcheol hated lying to Vernon, but it wasn’t like he would’ve believed the truth anyway. Vernon’s expression darkened a bit.

“Oh… don’t I get one?” he asked, the disappointment evident in his voice. Vernon had always wanted to be a part of Seungcheol’s friend group, to the point where he’d neglected to make many friends of his own.

“Sorry Vernon, they only brought back five of them,” Seungcheol replied, unable to look Vernon in the eyes while he continued his lie.

“Oh… well that’s okay. They’re your friends anyway, not mine,” Vernon said softly with a forced chuckle. The rest of the ride to the school was awkwardly silent. Seungcheol pulled into the student parking lot right next to Jeonghan’s bright pink sports car. Without a word, Vernon got out of the car and hastily walked off toward the entrance, leaving Seungcheol alone. Seungcheol sighed to himself as he walked through the front doors into the spacious lobby. Angel Grove Preparatory Academy looked like a freaking cathedral on the outside, and the inside was just as impressive with beautiful chandeliers hanging from the ceiling in the lobby, massive stained glass windows, and statues of the school’s most notable graduates.

“Hey Seungcheol!” Jun’s voice got his attention. He had bleached his hair until it was bright blonde, potentially to match his yellow gem. Seungcheol would be lying if he said it didn’t look great on him, “I grabbed your schedule for you, but we’re all supposed to head to the auditorium for the Senior Class Assembly,” 

“Thanks a lot Jun, let’s go,” Seungcheol replied, taking his schedule from Jun’s hand and walking off with him. As they were walking into the auditorium, Seungcheol accidently bumped into another guy heading in at the same time, making him drop the folder he was carrying and scattering his papers all over the floor.

“Oh man, I’m sorry about that,” he instantly kneeled down and started gathering up the papers, and he noticed something twinkle in the corner of his eye. He glanced over to the boy’s wrist and saw a silver bracelet sporting a gleaming white diamond… one that looked exactly like the one on his own wrist. He immediately looked up to the boy’s face; he was really handsome, and something about him was incredibly familiar, “Uh, here’s your stuff,”

“Thank you,” the boy sheepishly replied, quickly taking the papers from Seungcheol’s hand and stuffing them back into his folder before walking into the auditorium. As soon as he was out of sight, Seungcheol turned to Jun.

“Did you see his bracelet? It had a gem just like ours! It had to be the white Gosei Diamond, the one Irene mentioned had already been found!”

“So you think that guy is the White Ranger? He doesn’t look like anything special to me, you saw how shy he was… he’s kinda cute though,” Jun said with a smirk.

“I’m convinced, why else would he have a bracelet identical to ours? Wait a sec… I know him! He’s Xu Minghao!” Seungcheol snapped at the realization.

“Oh wow really!? I have no idea who that is!” Jun sarcastically said, mimicking Seungcheol’s excitement. Seungcheol rolled his eyes.

“He won the Angel Grove martial arts competition last year. He used a Kung Fu style that was thought to be lost. Basically, he’s an incredible fighter that would be more than capable of being the White Ranger,”

“Interesting. We’ll have to find out for sure later. For now let’s just head into the assembly and find the guys,” Jun motioned for Seungcheol to follow him into the dimly lit auditorium, which was already quickly filling up with students. Seungcheol spotted Mingyu in the far corner of the room, waving for Seungcheol and Jun to join him and the others. Seungcheol took a seat between Jeonghan and Joshua, while Jun sat next to Mingyu as usual. Seungcheol quickly filled them in on his theory regarding Minghao.

“So he had a bracelet just like ours? There’s no other explanation then… he has to be the White Ranger,” Mingyu tapped his chin in thought for a little while before speaking again, “Should we just like, confront him about it or what? I mean, if we’re gonna protect the planet we need to be a complete team,”

“But what if we’re wrong?” Jeonghan interjected, moving some hair out of his face, “Do we really wanna expose the truth to this guy when we’re not one hundred percent sure he’s the one?”

Seungcheol wasn’t sure exactly what to say; both of them had good points. Without Minghao the five of them might not be enough to protect Earth, but if he wasn’t actually the White Ranger, they might be risking revealing their identities for no good reason. He didn’t have much time to dwell on these thoughts however, since Principal Oliver was taking the stage. Principal Oliver was a surprisingly handsome and muscular man, with spiky black hair and a goatee that made him look more like a slightly aging 80s rocker than an educator.

“Alright students settle down. Welcome to another year at Angel Grove Preparatory Academy, although I guess this isn’t just another year is it? Your senior year is usually your best year of school, but it’s also the year you will grow into adults, ready to take on whatever life throws your way. I’ve watched a lot of you grow from unsure children to confident young men and women, capable of greatness and I can’t wait to see all of you realize your potential,” Principal Oliver’s gaze shifted to the back of the room and he chuckled; clearly he was getting the signal to get to the point, “I suppose I’m rambling again. Now on to our first order of business, SGA elections,”

“Hey Seungcheol,” Jeonghan leaned over and whispered in Seungcheol’s ear as Principal Oliver continued speaking, “You gonna run for SGA President? My buddy Eunwoo, you know that model kid, he’s running and I’d love to see you beat him. He’s kind of a spoiled brat, and that’s coming from me,”

“I don’t know Hannie, politics aren’t really my thing, even at the high school level,” as Seungcheol was talking, he noticed his wrist getting warm. He looked down and realized that the gem in his bracelet was glowing, just like that night at the campsite before they met Irene. A quick glance revealed that the other boys’ gems were glowing too, “What the hell?”

“Guys,” Mingyu leaned over and whispered, “I think we need to excuse ourselves,”

The five boys hastily exited the auditorium, holding their hands over their bracelets. Once they were out in the hallway, Mingyu checked his phone.

“Look at this! It’s all over Twitter, there’s a spaceship hovering over downtown Angel Grove!”

“A spaceship? You’ve gotta be kidding,” Jeonghan took Mingyu’s phone to confirm it for himself, “Holy shit… it really is a spaceship,”

“Do you think that’s why our bracelets are glowing?” Joshua wondered aloud, experimentally tapping the gem to see if anything happened.

“There’s only one way to find out. We need to get downtown right now,” Seungcheol said sternly.

…

“Oh my god,” Mingyu’s jaw was practically touching the floorboard as Seungcheol pulled up to the barricade the police had set up. Cars and people were crowded around, trying to catch a glimpse of the massive ship. It was completely black with a reflective exterior. It didn’t appear to have any windows, at least none that could be clearly seen from the ground, and the back of it was lit up by the glow of purple lights, presumably coming from some type of thrusters. Apparently it had just been hovering there for about 45 minutes, with no discernable activity.

“We should get closer,” Seungcheol unbuckled his seatbelt and stepped out of the car, moving closer to the growing crowd. The other boys joined him, with Joshua straggling behind the group a little, clearly nervous. Jeonghan took his hand and gave him a reassuring look, leading him closer and closer to the barricade.

 

“Excuse me officer uh… Bulkmeier. Do you have any information on where that thing came from or what it wants?” Jun asked the nearest police officer, a large man with a slightly receding hairline.

“We don’t know anything more than you do son, believe me if we did I’d let you know,” Officer Bulkmeier replied. Suddenly, a circular opening formed in the bottom of the spaceship. There was a flash of purple light and then there was a young blonde man standing before the crowd. He was wearing a skin tight bodysuit that seemed to be made of the same reflective black material as the spaceship itself. There was a long sword on his hip and his face was etched with pure determination. He held up a device that looked somewhat similar to a smart phone and attached it to his chest. He started to speak in his native tongue and the device buzzed to life, repeating his words in English.

“People of Earth, I am Hoshi, liaison of the Dai Empire. My master and I have come to conquer this planet in the name of Emperor D. We have received word that this planet is defended by a great team of warriors. I wish to challenge them now,” Hoshi drew the sword from his hip and held it high into the air. Everyone in the crowd was snapping pictures and recording videos, but Officer Bulkmeier stepped forward.

“The team you’re referring to… They’re the Power Rangers. They left Earth decades ago, but that doesn’t mean we’re just gonna roll over and let you take this planet for yourselves,” 

“Permission to fire sir?” a younger officer asked, stepping up next to Officer Bulkmeier.

“Permission granted,”

With that all of the soldiers opened fire on Hoshi, rattling him with bullets. Each projectile bounced right off both his suit and his skin, not troubling him in the slightest.

“What the fuck… he’s bulletproof,” Jeonghan gasped. Hoshi twirled his sword around, causing it to glow brightly before releasing a massive burst of energy, incinerating at least twelve officers at once, leaving nothing behind but piles of ash. Seeing the attack finally mobilized the crowd; people were scattering in every possible direction and the remaining police officers were frantically radioing for help. 

Seungcheol pushed his way through the fleeing civilians, knowing that he had to put a stop to Hoshi before he killed any more people. He jumped over the barricade, quickly joined by the others.

“You’re not hurting anyone else here today you bastard,” Seungcheol practically growled. Hoshi didn’t respond for a moment until the device on his chest finished echoing Seungcheol’s words in the alien language.

“And you and the other adolescents are going to stop me?” Hoshi smirked, pointing his sword at them.

“We’re not just adolescents,” Seungcheol held up his arm, showing off his bracelet, “We’re the Power Rangers,”

“Power… Rangers? So you are the great warriors of Earth,”

“You have no idea. Come on guys,” Seungcheol said confidently, putting a hand on his bracelet… but nothing happened, “What the hell? Why didn’t I transform?”

“Irene said we have to call upon the spirit of our Mystic Beast Companion. Let me try,” Mingyu moved to the front of the group, “It’s morphin’ time guys, spirit of the Mystic Manticore!”

With that there was a blinding flash of green light, and suddenly Mingyu was covered from neck to toe in a green, spandex-like material. The chest had a white vest with golden trim, as well as a circular multicolored badge. On his head was a helmet, adorned with an ornate golden design. A jet black visor concealed his eyes and there was a silver mouthpiece as well.

“Holy fuck this is amazing! I feel so damn powerful! Look you guys I’m a superhero haha!” Mingyu excitedly jumped up and down while the other boys attempted to transform as well.

“Spirit of the Mystic Dragon!”

“Spirit of the Mystic Unicorn!”

“Spirit of the Mystic Gryphon!”

“Spirit of the Mystic Phoenix!”

And there they were, standing together, each with a matching suit (the only difference being slightly different helmet designs). The Power Rangers had returned to defend the Earth.

“This is most impressive. Prepare to duel.” Hoshi ran forward, holding his sword tightly in his hands. He made a swing for Seungcheol, who was able to dodge with inhuman speed. Mingyu was right; Seungcheol had never felt this powerful in his entire life. Seungcheol moved in, using his signature roundhouse to try and knock Hoshi off his feet… it was to no avail, since Hoshi just caught his leg and launched him into a nearby car, completely crushing the windshield. He felt the impact, but it didn’t hurt nearly as much as it should’ve.

Mingyu and Jun attacked simultaneously; trying to punch Hoshi at the same time. He easily ducked out of the way and slashed them across the back, causing a power surge that sent sparks flying as they fell to their knees. Joshua was practically cowering behind Jeonghan, who was eagerly trying to protect him.

“Stay back. If you hurt him I swear to god I’ll…” Jeonghan’s sentence was cut short by Hoshi grabbing him by the throat and lifting him off his feet. He punched him in the stomach repeatedly before tossing him aside, narrowing his eyes on Joshua. Seungcheol got back on his feet and ran toward Hoshi, kicking him in the bend of his knee and forcing him down. He went in for another attack but Hoshi quickly whipped around, slashing him clear across the chest. There was another explosion of sparks and Seungcheol tumbled to the ground, clutching his chest and trying desperately to fight the searing pain; it appeared that the sword had completely breached the protection of his suit.

“This is the capability of Earth’s legendary defenders? Disappointing,” Hoshi teased, firing another blast from his sword right at Joshua, sending him flying backwards. He hit the ground hard, so hard in fact that it knocked him right out of his ranger form. There was another flash of blue light and Joshua was lying there unconscious, his face bloodied and bruised.

“Joshua!” Jeonghan screamed in anger, struggling to stand up. He clenched his fists and suddenly his hands were engulfed in flames. Seungcheol gasped; he’d almost forgotten about the elemental powers that came along with their Mystic Beasts. Jeonghan went into a frenzy, launching fireball after fireball at Hoshi, who was managing to deflect them with his sword. Even though he wasn’t being hit, there was still a look of shock on his face; he clearly wasn’t expecting the blazing assault, “I’ll burn you alive you son of a bitch!”

“Now this is more like it,” Hoshi chuckled. His sword glowed again and just as he fired a blast at Jeonghan, someone dropped down in front of him, deflecting the energy blast off a sword of their own. Seungcheol had to stand up to get a better look, but it quickly became clear that this interloper was none other than the White Ranger himself. His suit was similar to the others in terms of the basic design; white suit with a sculpted helmet, but his chest was covered by an ornate golden chestplate, “Another one?”

“The only one necessary,” the White Ranger said sternly, charging forward at Hoshi with his sword at the ready. The two of them clashed with lightning speed, moving faster than Seungcheol’s eyes could follow. The White Ranger managed to push Hoshi back several feet, putting some distance between the two. Hoshi charged up another blast from his sword, but The White Ranger was ready. He fired a single, thin beam from his own blade which collided with Hoshi’s hand, encasing it in ice and forcing him to drop his sword. The White Ranger didn’t waste a moment after that, running forward and double axe kicking Hoshi, ending it with a roundhouse similar to the one Seungcheol tried to pull off earlier, only executing it with the speed, grace and fluidity that only one person was capable of… Xu Minghao. Seungcheol was no completely convinced that Minghao was indeed the White Ranger.

Hoshi picked up his sword with his left hand, using it to help him stand. He chuckled even more before returning his blade to the sheath on his hip.

“I have gathered the data I need. I shall take my leave now. When I return, prepare to face the end of your world,”

With that Hoshi disappeared in a purple flare and the spaceship that had been hovering overhead ascended into the sky. Seungcheol and Jeonghan ran over to Joshua to see if he was still breathing, which thankfully he was.

“We need to get him to a hospital immediately,” Jeonghan said, holding Joshua close to his chest.

“And after that, the five of you need to stay out of my way,” the White Ranger said, staring Seungcheol down; if his face was visible he’d be sure he was glaring at him.

“Are you kidding? We’re supposed to protect the planet together, all of us,” Seungcheol protested.

“Yeah, and maybe we could if you all weren’t so terrible at it. That guy would have killed you all if I hadn’t showed up. Like I said,” the White Ranger stepped closer, “Stay out of my way,” 

The White Ranger marched off, disappearing in a flash. Seungcheol and the others reverted to their normal forms now that the danger had ended; it wasn’t a moment too soon since police reinforcements and ambulances were finally arriving. In the confusion, no one saw them transform which was a certain relief, but now Seungcheol had a lot more to be stressed about. The new Power Rangers had just got their collective asses kicked by a henchman of the real threat, the White Ranger wanted nothing to do with them, and Joshua was seriously injured. What a great start to their heroic careers…


	4. The Beast War

Seungcheol impatiently tapped on his steering wheel as he waited outside Joshua’s house. It had been two weeks since the aliens arrived, and their ship was still hanging in Earth’s orbit, completely protected by some type of advanced shield. The various governments of the world were unsure of what to do; if they attacked the ship, it most likely would be ineffective and at worst it could prompt the aliens to attack in force, something the world might not be ready for at all. 

Seungcheol still hadn’t gotten over their defeat at the hands of Hoshi, and what was even worse was that he hadn’t even seen Minghao at school to confirm that he was indeed the White Ranger. Luckily Joshua’s ranger suit protected him from the brunt of Hoshi’s attack and he healed up relatively quickly, but that didn’t stop all of their parents from grounding them for being at the attack site instead of at school, which of course was why Seungcheol and the others were sneaking out after midnight to go on a top secret trip back to Stone Canyon, hoping to talk to Irene about their powers and how they could become strong enough to defeat the alien threat.

“Come on Joshua, how hard is it to sneak out a window?” Mingyu mumbled to himself from the backseat, fighting off a yawn. Almost as if on que, Joshua climbed out his bedroom window onto the slanted roof. He carefully inched his way to the edge before dropping down into the driveway, making a mad dash for Seungcheol’s car. He climbed into the backseat, forcing Jun to scoot over.

“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” he said, out of breath, “We’re risking getting in more trouble,”

“Yeah well the entire planet’s gonna be in trouble if we can’t find a way to get stronger,” Seungcheol replied, pulling away from Joshua’s house and heading for the highway. They drove for hours before they finally arrived at Stone Canyon. Soon enough they were trekking through the forest, once again using their phones as flashlights trying to find the entrance to the mine shaft that would lead them to Irene’s cave. Eventually they found it, heading down into the cave.

“Any idea how we get Irene to show up?” Jun wondered aloud, looking around the expansive area.

“Hello? Irene, you here? We need to talk to you!” Jeonghan called out. There wasn’t an immediate answer, but out of nowhere a mist appeared. Soon a humanoid shape formed in the mist and the next thing the boys knew Irene was floating before them, looking as ethereal as ever.

“Rangers, you have returned. I felt the energy surge of you using your powers… Earth is in danger, is it not?”

“Yeah, you have no idea… there are aliens attacking the planet and we got our asses handed to us in our first battle against them! We need to find a way to get even stronger if we want to protect Earth,” Seungcheol explained.

“Yeah, if the White Ranger hadn’t stepped in we probably would’ve been killed,” Mingyu admitted. Irene looked disconcerted for a moment before sighing.

“The time has come for you to know more about the source of your powers so that perhaps you can summon and tame your Mystic Beast companions,” 

“Companions? What do you mean?” Joshua asked.

“She means that when we’re completely tapped into our Mystic Beast spirit, we can summon a physical companion to assist us in battle,” an unfamiliar voice echoed through the cave. The boys all turned around and gasped when they saw a young man standing near the mine shaft’s entrance. He was wearing a white hoodie that shrouded the top half of his face, but leaving his lips and chin visible. The sleeves were rolled up to reveal the white gem bracelet on his wrist.

“Holy shit… the White Ranger,” Jun mumbled. Seungcheol stepped closer to the boy, hoping to finally confirm his suspicions about his identity. The hooded figure stepped back a little, but he didn’t completely shy away.

“I thought about what you said Seungcheol,” the boy hesitated for a moment before removing his hood, completely revealing the face of none other than Xu Minghao, “I suppose we really do need to work together if we want to keep the planet safe,”

“It really is Minghao,” Jeonghan’s eyes widened in disbelief, “Wait, how did you even know we were here?”

“Wow,” Minghao scoffed, “You guys really have a lot to learn about your powers. Our diamonds can sense each other, and if you’re truly in tune with it then you’ll know where to find the others at all times,”

“That’s seriously fucking cool,” Mingyu practically squealed, “So Irene, how do become more connected to our diamonds?”

“I must show you the Beast War that ravaged the planet thousands of years ago,” Irene said solemnly. Her eyes suddenly began to glow brightly and the boys all started to see the same thing at once; a massive forested area. It felt as if they were floating above it all, having a bird’s eye view of the location. Suddenly there was a screech and a massive pink feathered bird soared over the trees, followed closely by a red serpentine dragon. It looked as if they were fleeing from something, and that evidence was supported when the boys’ viewpoint shifted beneath the trees and a unicorn with a magnificent sapphire horn darted through the woods, followed by two lion-like creatures; one Gryphon and one Manticore. On the Manticore’s back was a little white fox with nine shining tails.

As the Mystic Beasts fled, the forest behind them withered and died for no apparent reason. It wasn’t immediately clear what was happening, until a truly enormous snake slithered through, its scales a black as the night sky. 

“That is the Basilisk, embodiment of darkness and shadows. 20,000 years ago the Basilisk attacked the other six Mystic Beasts, starting the Beast War. The six beasts summoned the strongest warriors from a nearby tribe of humans, those warriors were my sisters and I. They endowed us each with great power, and wished for us to fight against the Basilisk, needing help to defeat it in direct combat,”

As Irene spoke, the boys saw her and her sisters; six beautiful young women, each wearing a different colored armor and helmet that made them look quite similar to Power Rangers. Irene herself wore the red armor and rode into battle on the back of the dragon. The boys received flashes of the brutal battle, and they witnessed the true horror of what the Basilisk was capable of. Irene’s sisters were ripped apart by the snake and leaving Irene as the sole living warrior. When Irene and the six beasts stood against The Basilisk in the final battle, they pooled their energy and created a massive energy blast, destroying themselves and the Basilisk as well as tearing splitting the forest apart, creating what is now known as Stone Canyon.

“In the wake of their destruction, only the spirits of the Mystic Beasts were left behind, encased within the Gosei Diamonds. The energy from their blast didn’t kill me, instead turning into an ethereal being. I knew it was my duty to guard the Gosei Diamonds, so I hid them away here in this cave,”

With that the boys’ vision returned to normal, leaving them all completely speechless at what they had just witnessed. Seungcheol was particularly moved, not realizing what the Mystic Dragon had gone through in its lifetime, or what Irene was forced to endure in the loss of her sisters to the Basilisk.

“Wait a sec,” Jun was the first one to speak up, “If the Mystic Beast spirits were contained within our diamonds… shouldn’t there be a diamond for the Basilisk spirit too?”

“Indeed there is, but it is not in the cave. I have hidden it in another nearby location. I wish for no one to ever find it, as the Basilisk spirit cannot be trusted,”

“Now that we understand the history of the Mystic Beasts, does that mean we can summon them now?” Mingyu wondered.

“Not quite. Understanding the history is only the first step. To truly become one with your Mystic Beasts enough to summon them and unlock your elemental powers, you must show them your true heroism, the qualities that make you worthy of evoking their power,”

“I guess nearly being killed by alien invaders isn’t proof enough for them,” Jeonghan rolled his eyes.

“It’s not something you can force, you just have to wait for them to accept you and bestow you with their full power,” Minghao further explained. Seungcheol briefly wondered how long Minghao had been in possession of his diamond, and what he did to prove his worth to the Mystic Kitsune.

“Well at least we’ve started on the right path, even if all we can do now is wait,” Joshua sighed.

“Go home and rest now rangers, you will need your strength for whenever your next battle occurs. Do not fret, I have no doubt that you will become one with your Mystic Beast spirits and the Earth will be saved,” Irene said with a sincere smile, before disappearing into mist once more. The boys went back up the mine shaft, all of them silently contemplating the things they’d been shown.

…

Seungcheol adjusted his tie with a yawn as he walked through the front doors of the school, still tired from their drive to Stone Canyon the night before. His head was still spinning with information overload; as if the alien invasion wasn’t enough to worry about, now they had knowledge of a black diamond somewhere with the spirit of a malevolent Mystic Beast inside. He was so groggy that he would’ve walked straight into one of the stone columns in the lobby if Vernon didn’t call his name.

“Seungcheol, we need to talk,” Vernon said sternly, a dark expression on his face. Seungcheol hadn’t seen him much the past few days. He’d been riding to school with Seungkwan (a boy in the same grade as him) and pretty much staying shut up in his room at all other times.

“What’s up bro?” Seungcheol wondered, suppressing another yawn. Vernon rolled his eyes.

“I know you snuck out last night. I don’t know where you went, and I’m not even gonna bother asking because all you’ll do is fucking lie to me like you always do,”

“What the hell are you talking about Vernon?”

“You lied to me about those bracelets,” Vernon pointed down to Seungcheol’s wrist, “I saw another kid with a white one just like it! If it’s some kind of special club or something that’s fine, but you shouldn’t fucking lie Seungcheol, that’s not what we do,” 

Seungcheol felt his heart practically crack in two. He hated lying to his younger brother, the two of them never kept things from each other… but deep down Seungcheol knew that Vernon could never know that he was a Power Ranger, it would put him in incredible danger since he always wanted to be involved in everything Seungcheol did.

“Vernon I…”

“Save it Seungcheol, I don’t wanna hear another word from you unless it’s the truth,” Vernon harshly cut him off, turning and storming off without another word. Jeonghan was standing across the lobby talking to his friend Eunwoo, but he walked over to Seungcheol after seeing Vernon’s outburst.

“What was that about?” he asked, raising a curious eyebrow.

“Vernon wants to know the truth about our bracelets, but I can’t tell him… it’s killing me Jeonghan,” Seungcheol replied, running an anxious hand through his hair. Jeonghan placed a supportive hand on his shoulder.

“Listen, I know it’s hard but hopefully we’ll be able to end this fight sooner than later and our lives will just go back to normal,”

“You’re right Hannie, all we have to do is stick it out,”

With that, Seungcheol and Jeonghan headed off to their lockers, praying that they could just have a normal day and that the invasion looming over their heads would remain stalled for just a little while longer.

…

Woozi smirked in satisfaction as he looked out over the impressive amount of robotic soldiers assembled in front of him. His ship contained the bulk of the invasion force, and the preparations were almost complete. Hoshi stepped forward and kneeled.

“I am most impressed Hoshi, the resources you’ve managed to assemble for this invasion force will allow us to take Earth for the Dai Empire in a matter of days. You have certainly earned what I am about to give you,” Woozi unclasped a cylindrical object from his belt, “Rise Hoshi. I gift you with this energy sword, the highest honor for a servant of a Dai Royal. Use it well, and lead my forces to victory,”

Hoshi grinned from ear to ear as he stood to his feet, taking the hilt of the energy blade and marveling at it. Within the next few days, Earth would be under the control of his master.

“I know you are eager to lead this war fleet Hoshi, and I am eager for you to do so as well, but there is one more thing you must do first,”

“Yes my prince?”

“Those bothersome Power Rangers could still in fact pose a problem for our invasion, since the white garbed one was able to match your speed in battle… with more training the other five could potentially overwhelm you. I believe you are in need of some… help,” Woozi fiddled with his gauntlet, projecting a holographic map of the earth with a glowing red dot on the western coast of a large land mass, “I have managed to pinpoint the location of an energy source, one that matches the signature that those Rangers gave off. There is something slightly different about it though, something that intrigues me. Before our invasion can begin, I need you to procure this energy source so that it can give us the edge we need to defeat them swiftly,”

Hoshi clenched his fist in frustration; did the prince really believe that he wasn’t strong enough to defeat those technicolored interlopers on his own? Still, he knew it wasn’t wise to go against Prince Woozi’s wishes...

“Of course my prince, I will obtain it at once. Daibots, prepare my shuttle and security detail… we’re going back to Earth,”


	5. The Black Diamond

Seungcheol walked into the air conditioned interior of the Youth Center, the regular hang out spot where the group would meet up on weekends. The place had gone through a major redesign since its inception in the early 90’s; it was once a combination gym/juice bar, but now it was more of a relaxing environment where people could order food, watch movies, play video games or basketball, really whatever sparked their interest. It had been about a month and a half since Seungcheol was here to teach his last martial arts class for the summer and with the start of autumn fast approaching, the vibe of the place was very different now. As he walked into the building, the young man sitting behind the counter immediately caught his attention.

His name was Yoon Sanha. Most people knew him as the son of the Youth Center’s owner, but Seungcheol knew him as Jeonghan’s bratty little cousin.

“Well hello Seungcheol,” Sanha said, the corners of his mouth tugging upwards into a grin.

“Hey Sanha, do you work here now or something?” Seungcheol, wondered, leaning on the desk to check the sign in sheet for any of his friends’ names.

“Yeah, dad says it’ll ‘teach me responsibility’ or some bullshit like that. It’s really boring though! All I do is tell people to sign in when they come in and to sign out before they leave… I really wish I could do something more exciting… like those guys!” Sanha’s expression perked up as he pointed to the small TV on the wall on the opposite side of the room. Seungcheol turned to see a news report about the alien ship.

“This is Cassidy Cornell with a breaking news report! The United Nations held a meeting this morning to discuss a potential course of action against the extraterrestrial ship hovering in Earth’s orbit. After hours of deliberation, they have finally announced their plan to the public! I have Dr. Collins of NASADA here with me to explain the UN’s goal,” the young blonde woman said, turning to an elderly scientist. He looked like a living stereotype, complete with rounded glasses and everything.

“The United Nations’ plan for retaliation against the invaders will come in the form of the Astro Initiative. This initiative will have two divisions; my division, Astro Aeronautics will create starships capable of combat with the advanced alien technology, and the division led by Colonel Dana Mitchell will be known as the Astro Combat League, a military force with the capability to fight the aliens head to head. We will make use of state of the art technology and we will defend our planet from all who threaten it,”

“Oh no, they have no idea what they’re doing,” Seungcheol mumbled to himself.

“The announcement has been on loop all morning, doesn’t it sound cool? I’d love to be a hero, kicking alien ass and impressing everyone, it sounds awesome,”

“Is Jeonghan here yet?” Seungcheol quickly cut Sanha off, eager to discuss this new development with his friends.

“Yeah, he got here about fifteen minutes ago,”

“Awesome thanks,” Seungcheol quickly replied, scribbling his name down on the sign in sheet and marching off to find the room the others were most likely in. He found them soon enough, in one of the movie rooms. Jun, Jeonghan and Joshua were on the couch and Minghao and Mingyu were sitting on the floor in front of the TV, completely enraptured by the opening credits of The Empire Strikes Back.

“Seungcheol, you’re finally here! I bought you some chili cheese fries, I know they’re your favorite,” Jun offered, waving the Styrofoam container around Seungcheol’s face.

“Thanks Jun… listen you guys, I hate to bring down the mood, but I have some bad news. The United Nations is planning to attack the aliens,” Seungcheol said, being sure to close the door to make sure no one overheard their conversation. Minghao immediately paused the movie, getting a whine from Mingyu.

“What? That’s a terrible idea, they’ll never be able to defeat the aliens and all they’ll do is ensure a full scale invasion!” Minghao practically shrieked.

“This is bad, this is really fucking bad,” Jeonghan bit his nails anxiously, only calming down slightly when Joshua took his hand.

“Wait a second, don’t you guys think you’re overreacting just a bit?” Jun spoke up, “It might be nice to have an actual governmental body helping us stand against the Dai Empire? I mean, we’re six teenagers that were suddenly thrown against an alien empire, face it we need help,”

“Maybe we do need help, maybe it is too much for just us,” Mingyu said, taking on the serious tone that he didn’t have all that often, “But if I’ve learned anything from reading comics and playing video games, it’s that when people get trigger happy and go looking for a fight, they certainly find one. The only problem is that nine times out of ten, they’re not a high enough level to beat the dungeon boss if you know what I mean,”

“I think we need to end this fight, and we need to end it soon.” Joshua added, finally voicing his opinion, “We need a trump card, something that’ll give us an advantage against the Dai Empire,”

“The Black Diamond,” Jun softly suggested.

“No, no way. Irene made it very clear that the Basilisk spirit is dangerous,” Minghao protested.

“Yeah, dangerous and powerful enough to take on all six of the other Mystic Beasts at once and actually almost win,” Jeonghan chimed in, “If we could potentially make use of something that powerful, we’d be able to defeat the aliens in no time,”

“I really don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Seungcheol interjected, “We don’t wanna unleash something we can’t control,”

Before anyone else could respond, their gems started glowing brightly, the same way they did during Hoshi’s first attack. The boys all glanced at each other; a silent recognition of what was happening. They dropped everything and rushed outside, ignoring Sanha’s request to sign out before they left. They would’ve went straight to Seungcheol’s car, but they ran into a familiar face instead… Vernon.

Seungcheol was speechless at the sight of him; he hadn’t seen him much at home the last few days, and he’d dyed his hair jet black and even gotten a lip piercing. Those changes combined with the thick black eyeliner, onyx ripped skinny jeans and black mesh t-shirt… well, it was clear that someone was going through a bit of an identity crisis.

“Get out of my way Seungcheol,” he practically hissed, putting his hand on Seungcheol’s shoulder to push him aside. Just as he made physical contact with Seungcheol there was an intense flash of light. When it cleared, the boys were standing on the edge of Stone Canyon.

“What the hell? Do you think Irene teleported us here?” Jun whispered into Seungcheol’s ear.

“Most likely, look at that,” Seungcheol pointed upwards and there was Hoshi’s ship, descending from the clouds.

“What the fuck is going on here!?” Vernon yelled in complete shock. It was only then that Seungcheol realized that he was there; he must’ve been teleported with them since he was touching Seungcheol at the time.

“Vernon, you need to get somewhere safe, now! Things are about to get… interesting,”

“No Seungcheol, I’m not going anywhere until you tell me exactly what the fuck is happening!” Vernon demanded.

“Vernon listen to him, please get out of here before…” Jeonghan’s sentence was cut short by Hoshi appearing before them in a flash, surrounded by a group of humanoid robots. Each one of them was little more than a black metallic shell over a bipedal frame, complete with haunting glowing red eyes. Hoshi smirked and activated his translator device.

“Ah, the Power Rangers have returned. This time I am not here to assess your skill, I have been sent for a much more important goal so I am afraid I must leave you to my Daibots,” he said, waving his hand dismissively as the robots menacingly approached the group.

“Power Rangers… wait a minute, Seungcheol, you guys are…” Vernon said slowly, putting the pieces together in his mind. Seungcheol stepped to the head of the group, nodding at the others.

“Let’s do this guys. Spirit of the Mystic Dragon!”

“Spirit of the Mystic Unicorn!”

“Spirit of the Mystic Manticore!”

“Sprit of the Mystic Gryphon!”

“Spirit of the Mystic Phoenix!”

“Spirit of the Mystic Kitsune!”

With that, the boys stood before Vernon and the Daibots, clad in their ranger suits and ready for a fight. Vernon’s eyes were wide and his jaw dropped. So this was why Seungcheol had been lying to him…

As the rangers went to battle with the robots, Vernon noticed Hoshi walking off, following the guidance of a hologram from his gauntlet. Against his better judgement, he decided to follow him; perhaps he’d be able to stop him from retrieving whatever he’d come to get. He followed at a safe distance until they were deep into the forest and Hoshi stopped at the trunk of an insanely large tree; one so large that it seemed out of place amongst all the others.

“This is where the energy source lies,” Hoshi said to himself, drawing his strange futuristic energy sword. Vernon clenched his trembling fists, trying to steel his nerves enough to confront the alien warrior. Hoshi held the sword high above his head before swinging it, cutting the tree’s trunk with a sickening crunch. Once his sword slashed through bark, a purple light emitted from it. Vernon raised a curious eyebrow, but he continued to watch Hoshi slash away in silence until the tree finally buckled and fell over, crashing to the ground with a thunderous boom. The light was much brighter now with the tree gone, and Hoshi stared into it as if he was looking at the face of god… that’s when Vernon knew he had to strike.

Mustering all the courage he could, he charged forward, tackling Hoshi to the ground. Hoshi dropped his energy sword to the ground, giving Vernon the seconds he needed to grab whatever energy source Hoshi was referring to; which turned out to be a tiny black gem on the ground, emitting a fantastic purple light.

“Stay away from that human, you have no idea what you are doing!” 

“I know you won’t be getting your hands on it,” Vernon defiantly stated, grabbing the gem for himself. The second he touched it, an electric shock tore through his body. He convulsed violently and dropped to the ground stunned. His eyes glowed a bright purple and he stood to his feet, the black gem now encased within a bracelet on his wrist, “I’ve never felt so much power in my life,”

“Finally, I have been awakened. I am the great Basilisk, true owner of this world you call home. Call upon my spirit human, release my power back into this realm,” a twisted voice echoed in Vernon’s mind, speaking with a slight lisp. Vernon nodded, holding up his arm.

“Sprit of the Mystic Basilisk!” there was a purple light and then, Vernon was transformed. He was now wearing a helmet with the insignia of a snake on either side of it. His visor was trimmed in gold and most of his costume was black, with white and gold accenting scattered across it. He had unleashed the power of the Basilisk… and now he was completely under its control.

Hoshi eyed this new Black Ranger carefully, briefly taking a moment to wonder why he hadn’t yet attacked.

“You there,” the Black Ranger finally spoke, but with a voice completely different from the boy that had transformed into him, “You wish to defeat the Power Rangers, yes?”

Hoshi nodded.

“Well then,” the Black Ranger cocked his head to the side, “Seek the enemy of thine enemy, and you will find a friend,”  
…

Seungcheol reeled from the sheer force of the Daibot’s fist colliding with his chest. It didn’t hurt, not really, but just the fact that it was able to knock him back shocked him. He didn’t let it keep him stunned though, quickly bouncing back and cleaving the machine in half with a sweeping kick through its thin abdomen. The two halves crashed to the ground and with the Daibots defeated, the rangers regrouped.

“Wait,” Mingyu spoke up, looking around frantically, “Where’d Vernon go?”

“You do not have to search far,” a dark and twisted voice replied.

The boys looked up at the ridge ahead of them where Hoshi was now standing, but it wasn’t his sudden appearance that shocked them… it was the mysterious ranger standing next to him. Seungcheol quickly took note of the snake design on either side of this black ranger’s helmet and he realized the truth… someone had found the Black Diamond and unleashed the Basilisk spirit.

“Hoshi, you have no idea what you’ve done!” Seungcheol screamed. Hoshi didn’t say a word, he simply nodded in the direction of the team and the Black Ranger leapt forward, landing in front of them. Minghao was the first to engage, launching into a series of spinning kicks. The Black Ranger expertly blocked and dodged every incoming attack before blasting Minghao back with a powerful burst of purple energy. Minghao slammed into the ground, knocked out of his ranger form completely.

“Come on guys, we’ve gotta hit him with everything we’ve got!” Seungcheol commanded, running toward the Black Ranger and preparing for a fight. The other four rangers followed suit (with Blue Ranger Joshua hesitating ever so slightly) and they converged on him, slamming into the purple energy shield that suddenly materialized around him. They had been running so fast that hitting the shield stopped them in the tracks, knocking them down.

“Pathetic,” the Black Ranger’s distorted voice reverberated from beneath his helmet, “These are the so called ‘chosen ones’ that the other Mystic Beasts have selected?”

With that, the Black Ranger held out his gloved hand and Seungcheol felt like he was being ripped apart. He screamed from the excruciating pain as he was pulled out of his ranger form… that’s when he noticed it. A thing red beam of energy had formed, coming from the diamond on his wrist and flowing into the Black Ranger’s hand. It was clear from the horrified cries of the others around him that the same thing was happening to them as well. Eventually the red tint of Seungcheol’s diamond was completely gone and it turned clear. He felt drained, almost lifeless and paralyzed. He could barely even lift his head.

“W-what did you do to us?” Jun demanded, using all of his strength just to speak.

“I drained the power of your diamonds. With you now powerless to stop me, my destruction of Earth can finally commence,” The Black Ranger turned and walked away from the boys, rejoining Hoshi.

“Destruction of Earth?” Hoshi asked, placing a hand on the Black Ranger’s shoulder, “In my culture we have a saying, ‘only he who cannot rule, destroys,’. Join my master and I and help us take over this planet. It will be a much more worthwhile use of your incredible power,”

“I suppose conquest is a lot more rewarding than destruction in the long run… take me to this master of yours,”

“Gladly,”

Hoshi and the Black Ranger disappeared in a flash, the massive ship hovering overhead rocketing off into the sky leaving the boys behind on the ground.

“C-can anyone move?” Seungcheol asked.

“Not really… did he really drain our powers? How are we supposed to protect Earth now?” Jeonghan replied.

“We’ll find a way, but first we need to get up and moving so we can find Vernon,” Seungcheol said, desperately trying to will his limbs into motion.

“About that… right when we started fighting the Daibots, I noticed Vernon head off in the direction Hoshi went. And then when Mingyu asked where he was, the Black Ranger responded saying, ‘we didn’t have to look far’… you guys don’t think…” Jun’s sentence was quickly cut off by Minghao.

“Vernon is the Black Ranger. He must’ve got his hands on the black diamond before Hoshi did and unwittingly released the Basilisk spirit,”

“No… no that’s impossible! Vernon might be a hothead but he’d never do something that crazy!” Seungcheol was quick to deny the idea, but in the back of his mind he knew there was something familiar about the Black Ranger. It was almost as if he could sense Vernon’s presence just behind the visor, “Oh man… this is horrible,”

As bad as their current situation was, they had no idea how much worse things were truly about to get…


	6. Downcast

Jeonghan sighed to himself as he poured a cup of tea with shaky hands. He glanced down at his bracelet, having to fight back a tear that was threatening to fall when his eyes focused on the now clear diamond placed within it. He still felt weak after having his power drained, and without the power of their diamonds being active, the boys couldn’t summon Irene for wisdom or advice. Basically, it was the worst time in history to be a Power Ranger.

He plopped down on the pristine white couch of his living room, ready to drown his sorrows in a binge session of Grey’s Anatomy… but then there was a knock at his front door. He groaned at the fact that his parents were out and he’d have to answer the door himself. Jeonghan shuffled over to the front door, pulling it open and gasping in shock when he saw Joshua standing there, adjusting his thick glasses that Jeonghan hadn’t seen him wear in ages.

“Joshua? I didn’t know you were coming over today,” Jeonghan stepped aside to allow him to come in, “Did you lose your contacts or something?”

“Yeah, somewhere in my workshop,” Joshua sighed as he sat down on the couch with Jeonghan settling in beside him, “I wasn’t planning on coming over honestly or else I would’ve texted you first, I just… I needed to get out of the house for a bit, you know?”

“Yeah I know,” Jeonghan rested his head on Joshua’s shoulder and sipped his tea, “It’s been a stressful week,”

“Understatement of the century Hannie,” Joshua replied, “I just can’t believe all that’s happened to us lately. From the moment we fell into that canyon and found the Gosei Diamonds, everything’s been so insane. Who would’ve ever thought we’d be the only hope for the planet?”

“I just wish we could tell someone,” Jeonghan admitted, “It would be a huge load off if I had someone to vent to,”

“You do have someone Jeonghan,” Joshua said softly, adjusting his glasses, “You have me… and Jun, and Seungcheol and Mingyu and Minghao of course, not just me, that would be silly, you… you know what I’m saying,”

Jeonghan giggled a bit.

“Yeah I know what you’re saying, but I don’t wanna burden you guys with my worries and complaints, we’re all going through this insanity together, I don’t need to add my baggage to the load we’re all carrying,”

“That’s what a team is for Hannie, that’s what friends are for,”

Before Jeonghan could reply, there was another knock at the door. He forced himself up off the couch and opened the door, revealing Jun and Mingyu.

“Uh, hey you guys?”

“Hey Jeonghan,” Jun said, his head hanging uncharacteristically low and his hands shoved in his pockets, “Sorry to show up unannounced,”

“We just didn’t wanna be alone right now,” Mingyu finished Jun’s thought. Jeonghan briefly wondered why everyone decided to come to his place for comfort, but he definitely understood their feelings.

“Come on in you guys, I’ll order a pizza or something,” Jeonghan welcomed the guys inside and motioned for them to sit in the chairs on either side of the white couch as he sat back down next to Joshua, pulling up the Jungle Karma Pizza app on his phone.

“You know, I thought this would be awesome, being a superhero and all,” Mingyu rubbed his forehead in frustration, “But we’re either the suckiest superheroes of all time, or this is just way harder than it looks in the comics,”

“They’ve got all the power; a robot army, advanced tech, and now the black diamond, not to mention that Vernon’s being controlled by the Basilisk spirit and is now helping them,” Jun shook his head, “We’re fucking fucked,”

“I agree, completely fucked—pepperoni or supreme?” Jeonghan spoke up, briefly looking up from his phone screen.

“Supreme,” Joshua, Mingyu and Jun simultaneously replied. Just as Jeonghan was confirming his order, there was yet another knock at the door; he was starting to think he should just leave the door open. This time it was Minghao and Seungcheol. Both of them looked rough, but Seungcheol looked particularly bad; his hair was a mess, his eyes were red and he was clearly running on nothing but caffeine. It was Minghao’s turn to assist Seungcheol’s family and the search party look for Vernon, even though they all knew exactly where he was…

“Hey Jeonghan,” Minghao was the first to speak, “You mind if we come in for a while? We needed a break from the uh, depressing atmosphere. We were out all night,”

Jeonghan nodded and let them in, both of them sitting on the floor in front of the couch.

“I ordered a pizza,” Jeonghan weakly offered, as if it would help at all. He noticed everyone’s bracelets, sporting clear, colorless diamonds; it was the perfect embodiment of their collective despair.

“My parents are an emotional wreck,” Seungcheol said softly, his voice scratchy, “It’s so damn hard to watch them cry and stress over Vernon when I know what happened to him. I just… I wish I could tell them everything,” he was full on crying now, tears streaming down his face. 

“Don’t worry Seungcheol,” Jeonghan looked into his teary eyes, “We’re gonna get Vernon back… I don’t know how, but we will, and your family’s gonna be whole again,”

“It’s all my fault you know,” Seungcheol mumbled, “If I would’ve just told him the truth, none of this ever would’ve happened,”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself Cheol,” Mingyu said, bending down to pat Seungcheol’s back, “There’s no way you could’ve known this would happen. We all agreed to keep this a secret to keep our families safe,”

“And how did that work out for me Mingyu!?” Seungcheol screamed, standing up from the floor and startling everyone, “All of you are telling me to calm down, when I’m the only fucking one of us who is suffering here!”

“How dare you say that,” Jeonghan practically growled, “Last time I checked all of us were saddled with the literal weight of the fucking world on our shoulders! I’m sorry your little brother got wrapped up in all of this, but don’t you stand there and act like you’re the only one dealing with something difficult,”

“I… I’m sorry you guys,” Seungcheol practically whimpered in response before quickly rushing out of the room. Jeonghan couldn’t even bring himself from stopping him from leaving.

“How could you just let him walk out?” Minghao wondered aloud, “Don’t you get it? We need to be together now more than ever,”

Minghao ran off after Seungcheol and Jeonghan sighed, his head returning to its spot on Joshua’s shoulder. Sometimes he wondered why he even bothered to try.

“Do you guys think that we should like, warn our families or something? I mean, Woozi could invade any day now and we’re completely powerless to stop him,” Mingyu asked.

“Well if we warn them, then they’re gonna want to know how we know,” Jun replied, “We should probably just… spend some time with them while we still can,”

“You guys go ahead, I’m sure I can eat two large supreme pizzas by myself,” Jeonghan replied, not wanting to cause any more potential damage by asking his friends to stay.

“No one said we’re leaving right now ,” Joshua giggled, “We can at least wait for the pizza,”

Jeonghan couldn’t help but crack a smile. If he was gonna be facing the end of the world soon, at least he could do it with his best friends at his side.

…

“Most impressive indeed,” Woozi circled the black-clad warrior standing in the center of his throne room, admiring the gold accenting on his suit, “This is precisely the edge we need to crush those rangers,”

“The Power Rangers will no longer be a problem,” The Black Ranger replied, Woozi smiling at his distorted voice, “I drained their power. They’re useless now,”

“Fantastic! Hoshi, step forward,” Woozi commanded. Hoshi, who had been standing at the other end of the room, briskly moved forward. Woozi simply held out his hand, getting a saddened look from Hoshi. His brow furrowed into a frown and Hoshi unclipped the energy blade hilt from his hip before handing it over to Woozi.

“I tried my hardest sir. And I was able to procure the black diamond and…” Hoshi’s sentence turned into a pained scream as Woozi suddenly ignited the energy sword and lashed out, slicing him across the face and instantly creating a burning gash.

“Trying is worthless without results. A human is the one that bonded with the Black Diamond, and took care of the Power Rangers, not you. Now you’ll share command of the ground forces with the Black Ranger, since he’s proved to be more competent than you,” Woozi spat, handing the hilt over to the Black Ranger, “Prepare yourselves, the invasion begins tomorrow,”


	7. Invasion (Part One)

Seungcheol lazily pulled himself out of bed after his alarm clock went off. The sun had just barely risen and he definitely wasn’t looking forward to another day of searching for Vernon with his parents. He made his way to the bathroom to shower, briefly checking his phone which had been flooded with concerned text messages from the other rangers. Seungcheol ignored the texts, not really wanting to discuss his feelings at the moment, before peeling off his pajamas and climbing into the shower.

About an hour later he was in his car, heading downtown to meet up with the rest of the search party. He smiled bittersweetly as Vernon’s favorite song came on the radio, briefly flashing back to their younger years. Vernon was always an outspoken kid, and on more than a few occasions that trait put him on the wrong end of some larger kid’s fist. Seungcheol quickly fell into the role of Vernon’s protector, not that he minded; if there was anything Seungcheol hated more than anything, it was people who thought they could do whatever they wanted simply because they were bigger or stronger than someone else. He honestly felt like a failure. He was supposed to be a defender of Earth, but he couldn’t even protect his own little brother… maybe it was for the best that his Diamond had been drained.

As he was stuck in traffic, he noticed his phone vibrating like crazy. At first he thought it was more text messages asking him about his feelings, but he quickly realized it was something more.

From: Jun  
DUDE IT’S HAPPENING 

Seungcheol’s heart nearly stopped. He knew exactly what Jun was talking about… Woozi’s invasion had begun. A shrill scream from outside snapped his attention away from his phone, forcing him to poke his head out of the window for a better view, and that’s when he saw it; a massive ship, at least four times larger than Hoshi’s personal vessel, descending from the clouds.

“Holy shit,” he gasped, watching with twisted curiosity as a part of the ship folded inward, opening to allow a swarm of smaller fighter ships to launch from it. Before Seungcheol could even mentally process what was happening, the smaller ships started pelting everything in sight with laser fire, shaking the ground and riddling everything with explosions. Seungcheol hopped out of his car, raising his bracelet, “Spirit of the Mystic Dragon!”

He waited to feel the rush of morphing… but nothing happened. Damn it; his powers truly were gone. He didn’t have time to worry about that now though, the invasion was upon them and powers or not, he was going to do everything he could to keep the world safe.

As one of the ships flew overhead, it lit up the highway with blast after blast, sending cars flying, fireballs hurling in every direction and nearly causing the entire elevated road to collapse. Seungcheol took off running to avoid the mayhem, ducking in front of a nearby truck and praying to whatever gods may exist that the ship stopped firing… thankfully for him it did, spiraling back up into the air and flying off into another direction. He stood up on shaky legs, brushing his pants off and pulling out his phone with the intention of calling one of the others, what he was met with instead was a static screen. Eventually the screen cleared up with an image of what appeared to be a young man wearing a black bodysuit accented with silver armor and complete with a flowing cape. On his chest was a translator device, similar to the one Hoshi wore.

“Hello humans, allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Prince Woozi, youngest prince of the Dai Empire and now the official ruler of this miserable planet. You have exactly 10 Earth hours to surrender your planet to me or I will have no choice but to take it by force, something that you would certainly like to avoid,” Woozi smirked before the message started again, this time playing in a different language. It was clear that he’d managed to tap into every screen on the planet somehow.

Seungcheol had no idea what to do. He was completely powerless and there was no way in hell the militaries of Earth would be able to contend with Woozi’s forces. Just when he was about to slip into a panic attack, he heard a shrill scream. Turning around, he immediately discerned the source of the scream; a young girl, trapped beneath an overturned car. He rushed over to her, noticing that her leg was pinned. He pushed against the car with all his strength, but it simply wouldn’t budge.

“Don’t worry, I’m gonna help you okay?” Seungcheol said as calmly as possible, still trying desperately to push the car off her legs.

“Am I gonna die?” she asked, her voice shaking beyond her control.

“No, no of course not,” Seungcheol assured her, “I’m not gonna let that happen okay? You’re gonna get out of here and you’ll be just fine, everything is gonna be fine. What’s your name, tell me about yourself,”

“M-my name is Ahn Yeoreum. I’m a student at Angel Grove Aeronautics Technical High,”

“Oh really?” Seungcheol pushed against the car again, “You must be super smart then,”

“Y-yeah… astrophysics is really my thing,”

“That’s amazing,” Seungcheol grunted, “Maybe one day you’ll do something amazing,” 

Before Yeoreum could respond, the sound of clanking metal filled the air. Seungcheol looked into the distance to see a battalion of Daibots marching down the ruined highway, the fires of burning cars and smoking wreckage reflecting off their black exoskeletons.

“Oh no… what are those things?!” Yeoreum shrieked.

“Bad news,” Seungcheol replied, “Don’t worry, I’m still gonna get you out of this, but if I don’t stop those Daibots they’ll kill us both,”

Yeoreum nodded as Seungcheol ran off to meet the Daibots in combat. He charged right in, hitting the nearest Daibot with a powerful kick, knocking it backwards. Despite his best efforts, without his powers the Daibots were simply too strong. Two of them pinned him to the ground and started beating him mercilessly, cracking his boned under the force of their metal fists. He started to cough up blood, but he refused to stop fighting, kicking at the Daibots with every ounce of strength he had left.

Just as he started to fall into unconsciousness, he felt a heat on his wrist. In the periphery of his vision, he saw a red light…

“Red Warrior, your commitment to protect mankind has earned you my trust and my blessing. I return to you my power, the power of the Mystic Dragon,”

With that, a surge of energy rushed through Seungcheol’s body, healing his fractures and giving him the strength to push the Daibots off him. He stood tall in the center of their formation, glancing down at his Diamond, now returned to its glorious red color.

“Time to even the odds, spirit of the Mystic Dragon!” 

Now in his ranger form, Seungcheol let loose on the Daibots, using his power over air to blast them back with powerful gusts of wind. One tried to attack him from behind, but he ducked under the blow and swept its legs out from under it before decapitating it with a stomp. Once they were defeated, he ran back over to Yeoreum, using his enhanced strength to finally lift the car off her, letting her crawl out from under it. Her leg was clearly broken, but she seemed to be okay otherwise.

“Y-you’re a Power Ranger…” she said, her eyes wide as Seungcheol picked her up.

“Yeah, I am,” Seungcheol smiled beneath his helmet, carrying Yeoreum bridal style to the nearest exit ramp and down into the streets. On the side of the road near the Youth Center, paramedics had set up an emergency tent to help those who had been injured. To Seungcheol’s surprise, Sanha was there, helping a pregnant woman into the back of an ambulance. Once she was secure, he turned around and his jaw nearly touched the pavement when he saw Seungcheol standing there as the Red Ranger.

“Holy crap it’s the Red Ranger! Oh my god Yeoreum? Are you hurt?” Sanha’s focus immediately shifted to Yeoreum; Seungcheol wasn’t quite sure how they knew each other, but clearly Sanha had strong feelings toward her if he completely ignored the fact that a literal superhero was standing right in front of him.

“Her leg is broken, can you get her to safety for me?” Seungcheol asked. Sanha nodded and lifted Yeoreum from his arms, taking her into the medical tent. Now that she was safe, Seungcheol could focus on finding the others.

….

Of course Joshua chose to go to school today. Of all days, this was the day he wanted to use the computer lab to get some work done on his video game. An hour ago he was hard at work, but now he was cowering in the corner in the completely dark, powerless computer lab. Prince Woozi’s attack came out of nowhere; he had zero cell phone reception, he was sure the power was out almost everywhere at this point and even from the isolation of the computer lab he could hear the pandemonium from the streets outside.

“What am I supposed to do?” he mumbled to himself, trying to fight the tears threatening to overtake him, “I’m gonna die here, we’re all gonna die. There’s no way we can face Woozi without the power of our Diamonds,”

Joshua’s rather depressing train of thought was quickly derailed when he heard the sounds of metal clanking in the hallway outside; it was the all too familiar sound of Daibots that made his stomach churn. He didn’t have the fighting skills of Seungcheol or Minghao, there was no way he’d be able to fight them off without his powers. Maybe if he was lucky they’d skip the computer lab and he’d be able to escape… where he’d go he had no idea, but it was at least a fraction of a plan. Forcing his legs to move, he got up and moved over to the utility closet, hiding inside just as the door to the computer lab opened.

The metallic footsteps filled the room as the Daibots searched the area. Joshua’s heart was pounding in his ears as he hoped to god that they wouldn’t check the closet. When it sounded like one of them was getting dangerously close, the sound of something colliding with the metal made Joshua’s ears perk up.

“Take that you alien douchebags!”

Joshua recognized the voice, how could he not. It belonged to Moonbin; a rich kid from Silver Hills that had been bullying Joshua since they were freshmen. He was a total asshole, but Joshua couldn’t just let him go up against the Daibots alone, they’d slaughter him! Using every ounce of willpower he could muster, he pushed open the closet door, hitting the nearest Daibot with it before tackling it to the floor and bashing its face so hard his knuckles started bleeding.

“Joshua?” Moonbin was so surprised that he didn’t even notice the Daibot that grabbed him from behind, swinging him around and sending him flying into the nearest row of computers. Joshua didn’t have time to check and see if he was okay, he was too busy trying to fend off the group of Daibots swarming him. Just as they grabbed his arms and legs, a voice sounded off in Joshua’s mind. It was sweet and calming, yet authoritative.

“Blue Warrior, your kindness and willingness to help one who has wronged you has earned you my trust and my blessing. I return to you my power, the power of The Mystic Unicorn,”

With that Joshua felt a surge of energy and there was a gradual swell of blue light from his diamond. Finally feeling his power return with a newfound confidence, he screamed at the top of his lungs, “Spirit of the Mystic Unicorn!”

In a blinding blue flash, Joshua had transformed into the Blue Ranger once more, reveling in the power he felt flowing through him. He pulled himself free of the Daibots’ grasp, ripping their arms clean off from the sheer force, before reaching upwards, pulling the water from the pipes overhead and sending it at the Daibots with the force of a firehose. They flew to the other end of the room completely dismembered and inactive. Joshua rushed over to Moonbin and helped him stand.

“Joshua Hong… is a Power Ranger… no fucking way dude,” Moonbin shook his head in disbelief.

“Believe it, you can’t push me around anymore Moonbin,”

“Push you around? Are you kidding me? You’re the coolest guy I know! Now go out there and kick some more robot ass!” Moonbin cheered. Joshua nodded and fled the classroom, knowing he needed to find the others and regroup. He realized that he could feel something different from the last time his Diamond was active… he could sense Seungcheol’s energy. He wasn’t sure quite how he knew it was Seungcheol, but the more he focused on it the more he got a mental picture of Seungcheol’s location… he was in Downtown Angel Grove, fighting a huge group of Daibots right near the mall! Without a second thought Joshua rushed outside.

“If only there was a faster way to reach him,” he thought out loud. A moment later the badge-like design on his chest shot forward a hologram in the shape of a unicorn. Seconds later it fully materialized, leaving a magnificent white unicorn with a sapphire blue horn right in front of Joshua; that must’ve been what Minghao and Irene meant when they said a physical representation of their Mystic Beast Spirit could help them in battle! Joshua leapt onto the unicorn’s back and charged off, eager to help Seungcheol and find his friends.

….

The Angel Grove Mall was supposed to be a safe haven of high end fashion shopping and glorious food court nachos… not an alien battleground. Jeonghan had come here with his friend Eunwoo to check out the once in a lifetime sale at Albatross and Finch, hoping it would make him feel better after the drama the previous week provided. He knew in the back of his mind that Woozi could invade at any time, but he’d hoped against hope that they’d find a way to get their powers back before that happened… clearly that wasn’t the case. Now Jeonghan and Eunwoo were hiding in a dressing room, trying to get a cell signal to call for help.

“This is hopeless, we’re gonna die in here aren’t we?” Eunwoo wondered aloud, holding his phone up as high as he could.

“No, we’re gonna get out of here… I don’t know how exactly, but we will,” Jeonghan said, trying to assure himself more than Eunwoo, “It doesn’t look like we’re gonna get a signal, we’re gonna have to go out and get to safety,”

“You want us to go out there? Did you not see those alien robots blowing everything up?”

“Listen to me Eunwoo,” Jeonghan held his friend’s shoulders and looked him in the eyes, “I’ll make sure you stay safe, okay? We have to go,”

Eunwoo simply nodded as Jeonghan led him out of the dressing room and into the store proper. The entire store had been ripped apart and clothes were thrown everywhere. The two boys made their way out into the rest of the mall… and Jeonghan nearly vomited. Dead bodies were all over the place, their skin singed from laser fire. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air, making Jeonghan’s stomach turn. He’d never been filled with so much hatred before in his life; so many innocent lives extinguished in so little time, and no doubt this same thing was happening all over the world.

“Jeonghan, do you hear that?” Eunwoo whispered. Jeonghan stopped walking and heard the metallic clank of Daibot footsteps getting closer. He pulled Eunwoo down into a crouching position behind the large fountain in the center of the first floor. He knew that the Daibots were getting closer and there was no way him and Eunwoo would survive a direct confrontation with them… but he had to make sure Eunwoo got out alive.

“Alright Eunwoo here’s the plan, I’m going to distract them and you make a run for the exit okay?”

“Are you kidding me Jeonghan?! If you do that, you’ll die!”

“Just trust me okay?”

“O… okay,” 

With that, Jeonghan jumped up and faced the squadron of Daibots closing in on the fountain. With a scream he charged forward, slamming into one of them with his full weight, tackling it to the ground. Two other Daibots grabbed each of his arms and another one charged up its laser. Jeonghan closed his eyes and prepared to die as the laser fired, but when the laser should’ve hit him… he didn’t feel anything. He opened his eyes again and realized that a pink aura had surrounded him, stopping the laser beam in its tracks. He looked over at his diamond which was shining brighter than ever before…

“Pink Warrior, your undying passion and courage have earned you my trust and my blessing. I return to you my power, the power of the Mystic Phoenix,”

“Fabulous,” Jeonghan smirked, glaring at the Daibot ahead of him, “Spirit of the Mystic Phoenix!”

Eunwoo watched in complete shock as Jeonghan morphed into the Pink Power Ranger right before his eyes. Fire erupted outward, blasting the Daibots that had been holding Jeonghan’s arms and blowing them apart. He then punched right through the chest of the one that had tried to shoot him, sending it collapsing to the ground. Eunwoo jumped up from his crouching position behind the fountain and ran over to Jeonghan, closely inspecting his ranger suit.

“Damn it Cha Eunwoo, didn’t I tell you to get to safety?”

“Yeah but I was like… completely paralyzed with fear or something. That’s so not important right now… YOU’RE THE PINK RANGER!”

“Yeah, I am. The only reason I didn’t morph before was because my powers had been drained, but since I’ve finally proven myself to my Mystic Beast Spirit, I have the power to kick Prince Woozi’s ass. But first I need to find the other rangers,” Jeonghan took Eunwoo’s hand and took him to the entrance. Police cars and ambulances were all over the place and Jeonghan realized that the military was doing its best to fight back when two fighter jets flew overhead toward Woozi’s ship, which was still perched in the sky, “Now Eunwoo, you need to get out of here,”

“I’m gonna find my parents, good luck Jeonghan,” Eunwoo shook Jeonghan’s hand and ran off, leaving Jeonghan alone to find the other rangers. Jeonghan moved down the street, turning the corner to see a truly massive gathering of Daibots. There were at least a few hundred of them, and they seemed to be focused intently on something in the center of their formation. Jeonghan steeled his nerves and let loose with fire balls, blasting his way to the center of the group. That’s when he saw him…

Seungcheol, clad in his ranger suit, fighting against the Daibots with everything he had. It was a sight to behold; he was completely in sync with his diamond and almost moving too fast for Jeonghan to follow.

“Seungcheol! You got your powers back too?!”

Seungcheol kicked the head off the nearest Daibot and turned to face Jeonghan.

“I sure did! Man is it good to see a friendly face right now!”

Jeonghan and Seungcheol stood back to back as the Daibots closed in on them, raising their laser arms.

“Let’s end this!” Jeonghan created a circle of flame around them and Seungcheol blasted air outward, amplifying the fire and igniting a massive explosion. Daibot pieces rained down from the sky and when the smoke cleared, there wasn’t a single one left standing.

“And that’s why we’re stronger together,” Seungcheol high fived Jeonghan, “Wait a second, you hear that? Is that… a horse?”

Jeonghan didn’t have a chance to respond before a white unicorn with a blue horn rounded the corner with none other than Joshua riding it.

“You guys’ powers were restored too!” Joshua hopped off the unicorn’s back and it simply disappeared.

“Not only are they back, they’re stronger than ever!” Jeonghan replied, pulling Joshua into a tight hug.

“So if we’re all here, where are Jun, Mingyu and Minghao?” Seungcheol wondered aloud. Joshua stopped for a moment as if he was concentrating.

“I can’t sense their diamonds which means they haven’t been restored yet… until that happens there’s no sure way we can find them,”

“There’s no way we can take on Woozi’s forces without a complete team,”

“I think the militaries of Earth can hold out long enough for us to find the others. The best way for us to do that is to summon Irene, maybe there’s some way she can help us,” Jeonghan suggested.

“Good plan, let’s get to Stone Canyon you guys,” Seungcheol said. He was beyond ready to put an end to this fight once and for all.


	8. Invasion (Part Two)

Seungcheol, Jeonghan and Joshua entered the cave thankful to be out of harm’s way, if only for the moment. The last time they were there their diamonds were drained and the place felt lifeless, but no it seemed that the mystic energy had returned. Icy blue mist filled the chamber and Irene rose from it, a smile stretched across her face.

“Rangers, you have returned! I was so worried that I had lost contact with you forever!”

“Yes Irene, we’re back, but as you can see, our team is incomplete. Jun, Mingyu and Minghao still haven’t got their powers back and we can’t sense their locations. We were hoping you could help us find them,” Seungcheol explained. Irene nodded and her eyes glowed brightly for a brief moment.

“Mingyu and Minghao are fighting off some of those alien robots outside of a movie theater. Their connection to their Mystic Beasts has not yet been restored, however, in Mingyu’s case, his display of heroism should change that in a matter of moments. As For Minghao, he proved his worth to the Mystic Kitsune months ago, he just needs time for his power to regenerate,”

“And what about Jun?” Jeonghan asked, almost nervous to hear the answer.

“Junhui’s location is… harder to discern. It will require more concentration,” Irene’s eyes began to glow again, this time for much longer than before. An awkward silence filled the air; each of the boys too afraid to say something that would break her concentration, “I have found him. He is… aboard the spacecraft hovering above Angel Grove,”

“He’s on Woozi’s ship?! How the hell did that happen?!” Jeonghan gasped.

“Who cares how it happened, what’s important is that we’re going to get up there and get him out. Then we’re gonna kick Woozi’s ass and save Vernon from the Black Diamond,” Seungcheol said, resolute, “But first we have to make sure that Mingyu and Minghao don’t get killed before their powers are restored. Irene, can you teleport us to them?”

“I can, get ready rangers,” 

In a flash, the three rangers were standing in front of the theater where Mingyu and Minghao were fighting for their lives. Minghao was bouncing back and forth between Daibots like a wrecking ball, hitting them with all the force he could muster… still it didn’t seem like enough. Mingyu was battered and bruised, using his body as a shield for an adorable little boy.

Seungcheol was the first to act, shooting a gust of air that pushed the Daibots away from Minghao, sending them crashing into the ground with enough force to shatter their robotic exoskeletons. Jeonghan wrestled the Daibot beating Mingyu and Seungcheol noticed a green glow coming from his bracelet. Mingyu looked shocked and his wounds healed almost instantly…

“Yes! Time to get back to action,” Mingyu looked into the little boy’s eyes, “Get somewhere safe okay? Leave this to us, those police officers can help you find your mommy,”

The little boy ran off and Mingyu stood in line with the others.

“Spirit of the Mystic Manticore!”

With a green flash he was the Green Ranger once more, jumping up and down with excitement.

“So everyone gets their powers back but me? Wonderful,” Minghao rolled his eyes.

“Irene said your powers will return in time, they just need time to regenerate,” Joshua explained, “But for now we need to find a way aboard Woozi’s ship so we can rescue Jun,”

“Wait, Jun’s in trouble?” Minghao’s expression immediately changed to one of despair, “If we don’t get to him fast, who knows what Woozi will do to him!”

“How are we supposed to get up to the ship?” Jeonghan wondered aloud. Just then, the badge on his and Seungcheol’s chests started to blink, before a hologram projected from them. From Seungcheol’s a slender red scaled dragon materialized and from Jeonghan’s came a magnificent phoenix with bright pink feathers. The dragon’s body was long and slender, much like a massive snake. Two ivory horns curled out from its head and long whiskers grazed the ground with every breath it took. The Phoenix was simply stunning, standing incredibly tall and outstretching its gold tipped wings. The pink feathers sparkled in the sunlight and the bird’s regal majesty stood out like a beacon of light amongst all the destruction around them.

“Well then, that’s convenient,”

“Let’s fly you guys, we don’t have any time to waste,” Seungcheol commanded. Just before they could mount their beasts, the monitor screen on the side of the bank tower crackled to life, revealing Woozi’s smirking face once again.

“Only two Earth hours have passed and two hundred of your cities have fallen. What more must I do to prove my superiority? You have eight more hours until my ship lands and I unleash my full wrath,”

“That little bastard,” Seungcheol practically spat, “Let’s get up there and shut him up,”

….

Jun sat up and gasped, instantly surveying his surroundings. His head was heavy and his vision was clouded, but he could tell he was encased in an orb of some kind. Through the thick, yet translucent surface of the orb, he could see reflective black walls, lined with blinking purple lights. The room he was in appeared to be massive, but mostly empty save for a few computer consoles and a doorway at the far end. He attempted to move his arms, but they appeared to be strapped down at his sides and his head was pounding.

“Oh man, what happened? That’s right!” Jun said as he remembered what had transpired before he ended up wherever he was now.

TWO HOURS EARLIER

“Alright Kiba, sit still okay?” Jun said with a smile, holding the small white cat tightly, yet gently as Dr. Campbell injected the adorable kitten with the necessary vaccine.

“Thank you Jun, I really appreciate you helping out around the animal hospital,” Dr. Campbell said with a smile. Her eyes shifted down to Jun’s bracelet and her expression changed to one of worry, “What happened to that gem in your bracelet Jun? Didn’t it used to be yellow?”

“Oh that? Uh yeah, but I guess it just… faded or something,” Jun laughed nervously, “Cheap material I guess?”

Dr. Campbell nodded.

“You know, I get nervous about that spaceship in Earth’s orbit,” Dr. Campbell put Kiba back in her crate and removed her plastic gloves, “I’m just thankful that we have the Power Rangers looking out for us, isn’t that right Junhui?” 

Jun’s blood ran cold at her tone… she couldn’t possibly know could she? It was known that Dr. Aisha Campbell was one of the smartest people in Angel Grove, but there was no way she could know Jun was the Yellow Ranger.

“Uh yeah, maybe we’re just lucky that we have heroes to defend us,”

“Luck has nothing to do with it Jun, heroes are chosen for a reason it’s not just some random draw,” Dr. Campbell continued.

“You seem… oddly knowledgeable about all this Dr. Campbell,”

“Let’s just say I’ve been through some interesting things in my lifetime, and I know a hero when I see one,” Dr. Campbell replied with a warm smile, “Alright enough of this heavy business, do you mind going out to the lobby and having Mrs. Nguyen and Comet come in? We have a broken bone to set,”

“Of course,” Jun said, breathing a sigh of relief. He was thankful to finally be done with that particular conversation. As he stepped out into the lobby, he felt the ground start to quake violently. At first he thought it was just an earthquake, but the echo of what sounded like jets flying overhead made him doubt that conclusion. 

He rushed over to the nearest window and audibly gasped when he saw the carnage outside. Small fighter ships were zooming around, pelting buildings with lasers and riddling the ground with explosions. The small television screen in the lobby cut out before reappearing to show a young man wearing ornate armor, with a device on his chest that looked like Hoshi’s translator. Jun panicked and drafted a group text.

To: Seungcheol, Jeonghan, Joshua, Hao <3   
DUDE IT’S HAPPENING

“Hello humans, allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Prince Woozi, youngest prince of the Dai Empire and now the official ruler of this miserable planet. You have exactly 10 Earth hours to surrender your planet to me or I will have no choice but to take it by force, something that you would certainly like to avoid,”

With that, everyone tried to flee the building, but Jun blocked the door.

“If you guys go out there, you’ll be killed! Just stay here and wait for help to arrive!” he commanded. Before anyone could react, the door was kicked open from the outside, knocking Jun flat on his stomach.

“Well, what a coincidence this is,” a twisted, yet familiar voice spoke. Jun quickly rolled over, coming face to visor with the Black Ranger, “If it isn’t the failed Gryphon host. Still trying to protect humans even without your powers I see? Well allow me to show you just how futile your efforts truly are,”

Jun was frozen in shock as a sword with a snake head hilt materialized in the Black Ranger’s hand and he instantly went to work slashing through everyone in the room. Jun quickly scrambled to his feet and tried to tackle the Black Ranger, but he simply pushed him aside, throwing him into the wall hard enough to knock him out…

PRESENT 

“Why didn’t the Black Ranger just kill me? Why did he bring me here and put me in this orb?” Jun wondered to himself, “I’ve gotta find a way out of here,”

“Prepare to be disappointed then Gryphon host,” 

Jun squinted, barely able to see the Black Ranger entering the room through the doorway. 

“Where am I?! What do you want?!”

“This is Woozi’s ship and you’re here to undergo cybernetic enhancements to transform you into a devastating warrior, completely loyal to the prince,” the Black Ranger moved to one of the consoles and began typing something.

“You’re kidding right?” Jun scoffed as the orb around him opened up, allowing the Black Ranger to grab him by the arm and forcefully pull him along as he exited the room. 

“I will admit this, you are a passionate host, much like the Gryphon was in life. You will make a fine warrior for the prince,” the Black Ranger said, an admiring tone to his warped voice.

“Aww thanks you’re so sweet,” Jun said sarcastically, ramming his elbow into the Black Ranger’s side. He knew it wouldn’t physically hurt, but it was sufficient to loosen his grip enough for Jun to pull free. He instantly took off running down the long hallway ahead of him. He could hear the Black Ranger on his trail so he took a quick left, ending up in a massive octagonal room, “Whoa…”

Ahead of him was a gargantuan orb, suspended above the floor by a series of wires connected to the ceiling. There were several multicolored gems implanted in the thing; red, blue, black, orange, green, yellow, pink, even silver and gold… he wasn’t sure what they were but it was clear that this was the power source for the entire ship. He didn’t have much time to consider this though, not with the Black Ranger hot on his heels.

“There is no sense in running Gryphon Host,” the Black Ranger’s voice echoed off the walls as he entered the room, forcing Jun to hide behind another computer console next to a closed door on the other end of the room, “You will never be reunited with your friends and you will never escape me… not unless you manage to strike me down for good,”

Jun’s eyes widened; he’d never even thought about killing the Black Ranger, not that he could without his powers anyway, but either way he wasn’t sure he would be capable of permanently silencing the Black Ranger… not with the knowledge that Vernon was still in there somewhere beneath the helmet. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a plasma sword igniting. Jun wanted to make a move, but he gasped when he felt a strong hand grab his shirt collar, lifting him clear off the ground. The Black Ranger held the plasma blade high, preparing to strike.

“I’m quite sure your body needn’t be completely intact for the implant surgery to be successful,”

Jun frantically kicked the Black Ranger in the face, taking advantage of his flexibility (he made a mental note to thank Minghao for his private martial arts lessons). The Black Ranger didn’t loosen his grip this time however and Jun was forced to wiggle out of his shirt to get free. The Black Ranger lashed out with the plasma blade but Jun rolled out of the way, causing him to slice through the computer console and forcing the door to open briefly… still long enough for Jun to squeeze through before it slammed shut again.

Jun breathed a sigh of relief, knowing the Black Ranger couldn’t get to him with the console damaged… or at least so he thought. There was a loud metallic screech as the Black Ranger began cutting through the door with the plasma blade.

“Damn it, I need something, any kind of… weapon,” Jun turned around and smirked as he realized he was standing in what appeared to be a trophy room of some kind… a trophy room riddled with alien weaponry. There was so much to choose from; a tall silver staff with what appeared to be a letter Z adorning the top of it, another staff with a weird crescent moon topping it off and a spiral shaped sword were the first things Jun noticed. He knew he had to act fast… that door wouldn’t last much longer against the Black Ranger.

Just as the door collapsed, Jun made a dash for the spiral saber, grabbing it just in time to stop a strike from the plasma blade. The blades sparked against each other, singing Jun’s exposed chest and causing him to hiss in pain while also trying not to go blind from the bright flash of light.

“Submit Gryphon Host… or die,”

“Or, third option, I kick your ass and get off this ship,” Jun retorted, using all his strength to push the Black Ranger back. The Black Ranger scoffed and swung with all his might, cleaving the spiral saber in two and forcing Jun to drop it. He dove for the Z staff and pointed it at the Black Ranger, smiling in satisfaction as it started to surge with purple lightning, “Stand down, or I’ll fry you,”

“Stand down? As I said before Gryphon Host, the only way to stop me, is to kill me,”

Jun stood firm, ready to fire off the lightning at a moment’s notice. He gripped the staff tighter in his hands and prepared to do the deed, to do what was necessary to save himself and get out of there in one piece... but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He couldn’t do fatal damage to the Black Ranger without doing fatal damage to Vernon and in that case… the cost was simply too high. 

The electricity around the staff dissipated as Jun lowered the staff, finally dropping it to the ground. This was it, without killing the Black Ranger there was no way out, so it seemed… there was just no way out. The other rangers could still succeed without him, maybe they could even find a replacement. But he could never live with himself if he killed Vernon.

“Do what you have to. Kill me, turn me into a cyborg, whatever… but I won’t kill you,” Jun admitted, raising his hands in surrender.

“Weakling. Perhaps you don’t have the true spirit of the Gryphon after all,” the Black Ranger shook his head, stalking toward Jun with vigor. Jun closed his eyes, preparing for the worst, but then a voice echoed in his head.

“Yellow Warrior, your undying compassion for those you hold close and courage to stand down even when in mortal danger has earned you my trust and my blessing. I return to you my power, the power of the Mystic Gryphon,”

Jun gasped and opened his eyes, his body surging with energy as the colorless diamond on his wrist slowly began to glow bright yellow… this was it.

“Are you sure about that Basilisk?” Jun smirked, holding up his wrist and showing off his diamond, “Spirit of the Mystic Gryphon!”

The Black Ranger shielded his vision from the bright flash of yellow light. When his sightline was clear, Jun stood before him in his Yellow Ranger garb, cracking his knuckles.

“Let’s play,” Jun taunted. He didn’t have the chance to act though before another voice entered his mind, this one a bit more familiar.

“Wen Junhui, your power has returned!”

The Black Ranger charged at Jun once again, preparing to strike.

“Irene?” he thought in response, quickly ducking a swipe from the Black Ranger’s plasma blade.

“Yes! Now that our link is reestablished, I can teleport you to the other rangers!” With that there was another blinding flash and Jun was standing on the streets of the city next to his friends.

“What the… Jun?!” Pink Ranger Jeonghan gasped just as he was climbing onto the back of an enormous pink feathered phoenix.

“Holy shit is it good to see you guys again!” Jun pulled Minghao into a tight hug, “Wait, why are you the only one unmorphed Hao?”

“My Diamond still needs some time to recharge. How did you get here? We were just about to go up to get you,”

“My powers returned while I was fighting the Black Ranger and Irene was able to teleport me to safety,”

“It’s good that you’re here Jun, but safety might not be the best term to use… look!” Blue Ranger Joshua pointed up to the sky just as an enormous shadow shrouded the boys. Hovering overhead was none other than Hoshi’s personal vessel. With their attention diverted, the Mystic Dragon and Phoenix vanished.

“Get ready you guys,” Red Ranger Seungcheol stepped up, “Looks like we got another fight on our hands,”

The six rangers stood together for the first time since the invasion as Hoshi beamed down in a shot of purple light, standing before the team and looking more angered than they’d ever seen him with a nasty scar across his face. His translator glowed to life as he began to speak.

“Power Rangers,” he growled, “I will prove to Prince Woozi that I am the superior warrior! I will regain my title as Royal Knight and I will do that by tearing you all apart!” 

Hoshi drew the sword he had in their first battle and ran toward the rangers, crazed and enraged. He swung the sword in every direction, but the rangers scattered, avoiding his attack. Minghao ran to safety, still waiting for his Diamond to recharge as the rest of the team pressed the attack, Mingyu leading by stomping the ground and ripping up a chunk of rock big enough for him to launch at Hoshi.

Hoshi managed to slash right through the rock, but the other rangers didn’t let up; Jeonghan and Joshua alternated water whips and fire balls, pelting him relentlessly. Hoshi screamed in anger, unleashing a laser blast from his sword that missed hitting them directly, but hit the ground between them, causing an explosion that blasted them aside. The moment they went down Seungcheol and Jun took their place. Hoshi fired off another laser shot but Jun intercepted it with a yellow energy force field, allowing Seungcheol to launch himself upward above the field’s cover and shoot a powerful gust of wind at Hoshi, knocking the sword from his grasp and forcing him to fall. It felt great; the team had never been quite so synchronized.

“No, I WILL NOT FALL HERE!” Hoshi screamed as loud as he could manage.

“Looks like you already fell,” Jun said with a snort as the team reassembled around him. Hoshi practically growled and grabbed another weapon off his belt. An energy whip expended from it and he cracked it forward, but instead of it hitting the team it moved far past them and wrapped itself around Minghao’s leg. With a forceful pull, Hoshi dragged him across the asphalt and pulled him up into a chokehold.

“Let this be a lesson to you all, I will kill you all one by one,” Hoshi hissed.

“Let him go now!” Jun demanded, stepping to the front of the group. Minghao squirmed, trying to get free of Hoshi’s hold, but then something strange happened. A familiar energy surge ripped through his body; he knew exactly what that meant. With newfound strength Minghao flipped Hoshi and rejoined the team, showing off his sparkling white diamond.

“Spirit of the Mystic Kitsune!” in yet another blinding flash, Minghao was back in his ranger form, “Oh hell yeah, let’s finish this,”

Finally losing it, Hoshi grabbed his sword and completely let loose, setting off a barrage of laser blasts that a force field from Jun backed up by a wall of ice from Minghao deflected. 

“Now that we’re all together, we need to end this,” Seungcheol said, “Remember that idea Mingyu had for a combination attack?”

“Yeah, but we don’t have nearly enough power to pull that off!” Joshua replied, noticeably wincing from the impact of Hoshi’s lasers against Jun’s force field.

“Correction!” Mingyu spoke up, yelling over the explosive blasts, “We didn’t have enough power, but we’re definitely juiced up and synchronized now! If there’s any time to try it, it would be now,”

“Alright, let’s do this! Rangers, gather!” Seungcheol commanded and the Rangers immediately assembled around him just as Hoshi finally breached the force field, “Now!”

With that the Rangers dispersed, with Seungcheol charging at Hoshi head on. Hoshi ran forward too, swinging his sword at Seungcheol who swiftly ducked under it before summoning an upward draft of wind to lift Hoshi high into the air. As soon as Hoshi was airborne, Minghao pelted him with rapid fire icicles in the shape of daggers, slowly breaching his armor. The moment his armor was finally shattered, it was Joshua’s turn. He instantly blasted Hoshi back to the ground with a pressurized water burst from a nearby fire hydrant.

Hoshi collided with the asphalt hard, rolling to a stop when he slammed into a car… but the attack wasn’t finished yet. Suddenly the cracked road began to rise around Hoshi, trapping him in an orb controlled by Mingyu who flung it high into the air.

“Jeonghan, now!” Mingyu shouted once the orb was high enough. Jeonghan nodded and took a deep breath before focusing all his energy on creating a truly gargantuan fire ball and volleying it up to meet the orb that Mingyu had suddenly pulled downward. The collision was awe inspiring; an explosion the likes of which the boys had never seen ensued, nearly blinding everyone within sight of it. Thankfully Jun had been able to contain the blast within a force field, but once the dust cleared there was no trace left of Hoshi other than his sword which fell from the sky and clattered to the ground at Seungcheol’s feet.

It seemed like everything was silent for a moment before every civilian that was still in the area came out of hiding (in their cars, in the shelter of nearby buildings). For a long moment they simply stared at the Rangers, at first unsure of how exactly to react… but then, a simultaneous roar of applause erupted as the citizens cheered on their heroes.

“Now that’s how superheroes get shit done,” Mingyu said excitedly, the smile on his face obvious even though his features were obscured by his helmet.

“We aren’t done yet Gyu,” Seungcheol said, his eyes shifting up to Woozi’s spaceship still perched in the sky, “We’ve still got a prince to deal with,”

“Can’t anyone ever just let me enjoy the moment?” Mingyu sighed.

“You’re a shithead Mingyu,” Jeonghan giggled. With that the Rangers prepared to summon their beasts again. With their newfound power they had no doubt that they could defeat Prince Woozi and Earth would finally be safe.


	9. Invasion (Part Three)

Woozi tapped his fingers against the armrest of his massive throne as he looked up at the bluish grey hologram projected before him. The figure was cloaked and their face was covered by a hood, but he recognized the strong chin all too well.

“I take it your conquest of planet Earth is going well?” the unnaturally deep voice asked. Woozi frantically nodded.

“Yes. My forces are currently assaulting the planet, beating them into submission. There is no doubt that within the next few Earth hours, the planet will be under my control,” Woozi confidently replied.

“Very good. Soon you will join your brothers’ rank as Dai Sovereign. Now, continue Prince Woozi,”

“Thank you… father,” Woozi saluted as the hologram disappeared. He was somewhat… well, it was this odd emotion he wasn’t quite used to. He believed some called it… worry? Well, he was… worried, that he hadn’t received a report from Hoshi in a while, especially after the Yellow Rangers regrettably escaped his ship. He tried to summon Hoshi through their mental link… but he was completely silent. But… that would mean… impossible. There was no way that human swine managed to take down one of his top soldiers, completely ridiculous.

“Prince,” Woozi was shaken from his thoughts by the voice of the Black Ranger as he entered his throne room, “The Daibots of the 532nd attack force have reported in. Hoshi has been defeated,”

“But… that… that isn’t possible!” Woozi slammed his hand down on the armrest of his throne, completely shattering the shimmering black stone surface, “How dare those mongrels, those disgusting degenerates… how dare they take the life of a magnificent Dai warrior! I will eviscerate them, tear their intestines from their bodies, I will…”

“Prince, if I may,” the Black Ranger interrupted, “I can sense the energy of the other Diamonds and I can confirm that they are approaching the ship as we speak. In short, we will soon have our chance to enact our revenge,”

Woozi simply chuckled menacingly.

“We? Our? No no my black suited friend, this revenge is mine to take,”

The Black Ranger cocked his head to the side and unclipped the plasma blade hilt from his belt.

“Then I’m afraid this is where our partnership ends. The Mystic Beasts are my sworn enemies and I refuse to stand by and allow some extraterrestrial brat to take the honor of destroying them,”

Finally having heard enough disrespect, Woozi reached down into the other armrest of his throne, grabbing the plasma sword hilt hidden within it. The two foes ignited their blades simultaneously and clashed, sending sparks flying throughout the throne room. Woozi pushed against the Black Ranger, forcing him back and slashing away, ripping into him and causing power surges with every single strike. The Black Ranger stumbled backwards, falling to his knees. He had to admit, he hadn’t expected the brat prince to be that strong… it looked like he had to summon his true power to deal with this threat.

The Black Ranger gripped his chest, feeling the power of the Basilisk. The badge on his chest flashed and the physical manifestation of the Basilisk projected from it, taking the form of a huge black snake with glowing purple eyes and scales as opaque as a starless night sky. The Basilisk shot two thin violet lasers from its eyes that froze Woozi in his tracks on impact. Once he was petrified, The Black Ranger stepped closer, ready to cut him down… but then he felt something; the Power Rangers had arrived on the ship. He had no time to waste on the brat prince, it was time to destroy the Mystic Beasts once and for all.

…

“We’re approaching Woozi’s ship, how should we get on board?” Minghao wondered aloud, holding on to Seungcheol’s waist as tightly as possible as they rode the Mystic Dragon through the air.

“Why don’t we just blast our way in?” Jeonghan chimed in, riding the Mystic Phoenix along with Joshua and Mingyu.

“That could work well, if you don’t mind the entire ship being alerted to our presence. We need a plan of attack before we just go in powers blazing,” Joshua replied.

“When I was aboard the ship, I remember seeing a big orb with all these multicolored stones in it. It was probably the power source of the ship,” Jun called out.

“A reactor core, of course! If we manage to disable it, the entire ship will go down!” Joshua excitedly responded.

“But Woozi’s ship is huge. If it goes down its gonna cause some serious damage,” Seungcheol thought out loud, “Maybe if we could get to the control room we could steer it out over the ocean,”

“Sounds like we have a plan then,” Jeonghan stood up on top of the Phoenix’s head, preparing another enormous fireball. Seungcheol shielded his visor as the fireball collided with the side of Woozi’s ship, blowing a massive hole in the side of it.

“Why aren’t we being attacked by fighter ships?” Minghao wondered as the Mystic Dragon and Phoenix landed inside the newly opened area.

“I considered that,” Joshua said, dismounting the Phoenix, “Something must’ve happened in the control room,”

The inside of the ship was dark and oppressive; lit only by purple lights which reflected off the metallic black walls that looked very similar to the outside of Woozi’s ship. The air was thick, but the new hole in the wall was making it a bit easier to breathe. The two mystic beasts vanished, and the rangers didn’t even have a chance to collect themselves before an automatic door on the opposite end of the room opened. A group of Daibots rushed in, but they didn’t open fire immediately. Seungcheol clenched his fist when he saw the Black Ranger follow them in, standing tall in the center of their formation.

“Jun, Joshua, go take out the reactor core, the rest of us will handle the Black Ranger,” Seungcheol commanded. Jun and Joshua nodded before fleeing from the room, leaving the other four rangers with the Black Ranger and his Daibots.

“You’ll handle me?” the Black Ranger’s warped voice turned into a disturbing laugh, “I’d love for you to try,” 

“We need a plan of attack,” Minghao said softly.

“Just wipe the floor with the Daibots, I’ll deal with the Black Ranger myself,” Seungcheol said, charging forward and blasting air out of his palms at the Black Ranger who swiftly dodged the gusts. Seungcheol met him in combat, both of them working off their Diamond’s power to move faster than humanly possible. Seungcheol’s every strike was either blocked or dodged by the Black Ranger, but he was fast enough to avoid being hit by the evil ranger’s strikes as well. He pushed the Black Ranger back into the wall with a particularly powerful gust of wind before creating a vacuum effect to swiftly pull him back into an uppercut which knocked him onto the ground hard. As soon as he was down, Seungcheol pounced on him gripping at his helmet and pulling as hard as he could.

“Let Vernon go you son of a bitch!” he screamed.

The Black Ranger placed his palm flat against Seungcheol’s chest and a loud cannon-like bang sounded off as he unleashed a blast of purple energy, pushing Seungcheol high up into the air and causing him to slam into the ceiling. Seungcheol crashed down to the ground, almost fading out of his ranger form as the Black Ranger stood over him.

“You have progressed Dragon Host, but you are still far below my standards. Now, instead of just draining your Diamond, I will simply kill you,”

Seungcheol was in so much pain he couldn’t move as the Black Ranger prepared another energy blast. Before he could fire it off, it dissipated and the Black Ranger looked at his hand in what Seungcheol assumed to be confusion. He tried again, but each time the energy disappeared.

“W-what is this?” the Black Ranger’s usual warped voice sounded as if it was glitching out, and for a split second Seungcheol could’ve sworn he heard Vernon’s voice instead, “What is becoming of my power?!”

“That’s my little brother you asshole,” Seungcheol willed himself to stand up, “He’s a lot stronger than you think and he’s fighting back,”

“A mere human… t-trying to fight back against my power?!”

“No, not a human,” Seungcheol said as Minghao, Mingyu and Jeonghan appeared at his side, having defeated the Daibots, “A team. We’ll never let you divide us you sick bastard… now give me my brother back!”

Seungcheol released another powerful gust of wind, slamming the Black Ranger into the wall hard enough to put him through it. He laid flat on the ground amidst the metallic rubble of the wall, completely motionless for a few long moments. Suddenly there was a flash of purple light and Vernon was there, bruised and bloodied, but clearly breathing. Seungcheol ran over to him and pulled him into a hug.

“Vernon? Vernon wake up!”

Vernon’s eyes fluttered open, smiling when he saw his own reflection in Seungcheol’s cracked visor.

“Seungcheol… you did it. Y-you saved me. It was so horrible, being a passenger in my own mind, watching someone or… something else control my body,” he said, his voice hoarse.

“Don’t worry, take my word that nothing like that will ever happen again,” Seungcheol looked down at Vernon’s wrist, noticing that the Black Diamond was still there, encased in a bracelet identical to the ones the rest of the team wore, “Wait… your Diamond is still active,”

“Yeah,” Vernon coughed, “You didn’t destroy the Basilisk Spirit, both of us fighting against it was enough to overwhelm it though. I’m in control now,”

Vernon managed to stand up on shaky legs, aided by Seungcheol. The other rangers quickly surrounded them, all happy to see that he was okay.

Seungcheol felt as if a major weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Vernon was finally free from the Basilisk’s control and now it was time to defeat Woozi so that their lives could return to something resembling normalcy once and for all…

…

“There it is,” Jun said as he and Joshua looked up at the massive orb shaped reactor core. Joshua marveled at the multicolored gems within it, stepping closer to get a better look.

“Wow, they don’t look like anything I’ve ever seen before. I can feel the energy coming off them just by standing this close,”

“Now’s not the time to be awestruck,” Jun reminded him, “How do we take this thing out?” 

“Up there,” Joshua pointed to the various cords connecting the orb to the rest of the ceiling, “If we sever those then we should break the connection, but we need to make sure the others are in the control room and ready to steer the ship out over the ocean before we do that,”

“How do we even get up there?” Jun wondered aloud, but Joshua was already busy climbing the side of the giant orb, “Dude are you crazy? You’re gonna fall!”

“I’ll be fine dude,” Joshua said as he got up close and personal with the cords, “These look like they’re tightly in place. It’ll take some serious force to dislodge them,”

“Wait a second, there’s a weapons room not far from here. I’m sure that there’s something there we could use,” Jun ran off into the next room while Joshua continued inspecting the wires. Suddenly he heard Seungcheol’s voice echoing in his head.

“Joshua? Can you hear me?”

Joshua was somewhat startled.

“Uh, yeah?”

“Awesome, it works. Our Diamonds seem to give us this weird psychic link. We took down the Black Ranger and got Vernon back… did you and Jun find the reactor?”

“Yeah, we’re trying to find a way to sever its connection to the ship now,”

“That’ll have to wait. We’re heading to Woozi’s throne room now and we need the entire team together,”

“Got it, we’re heading your way now,” Joshua climbed down off the reactor just as Jun returned from the weapon’s room, wielding a staff with a Z on top of it, “We won’t need that just yet Jun, we’ve gotta meet the others in the throne room,”

“Damn it,” Jun let the staff clatter to the ground, “I’ll never get a chance to use this damn thing. It shoots lightning!”

“You’ll get your chance Junnie,” Joshua chuckled, patting the Yellow Ranger’s shoulder, “Now let’s go,”

…

Jun and Joshua finally rejoined the group outside the massive ornately styled doors of Woozi’s throne room. Glowing text was etched into the doors, but it was clearly in the Dai language and no one could understand it. There was a console near the doors that Jun figured would open them based on his experiences on the ship, but having no idea how to work it, he just smashed it with his fist hoping it would work… thankfully it did.

“Well that’s one way to do it,” Jeonghan said with a shrug as the large doors slowly slid apart, revealing the throne room. The room itself was shaped like an octagon, like many of the other rooms and areas on the ship, but the design work was much more grandiose here, with twisted spires supporting the ceiling and floor tiles made of what appeared to be sparkling onyx. The throne itself was large, much too large for Woozi, and it appeared to be made of the same material as the floor. The only thing missing from the picture, was Woozi himself…

“Where is that little bastard?” Jun wondered aloud as the team began to inspect the room.

“I remember… the Black Ranger turned him to stone,” Vernon said, limping and trying to keep up with the others, “He was right there, in the center of the room,”

“Well he’s clearly not there anymore. Everyone stay on guard, we can’t allow him to get the drop on us,” Seungcheol advised. Suddenly there was a loud pained scream as Woozi dropped down from the rafters of the ceiling and slashed Mingyu across the back with his already lit plasma sword, causing the Green Ranger to fall to his knees.

“You think you can stop my invasion?! You think you can impede the expansion of the Dai Empire?! You will die here today, and this planet will be mine!” Woozi screamed, preparing to behead Mingyu. Seungcheol quickly disarmed him with a targeted ball of air, sending his blade flying across the room. As soon as the weapon was out of his clutches, the Rangers attacked in force. Minghao launched into a flying kick, knocking the prince into a nearby wall, which Joshua pinned him to with a thick layer of ice made of the water vapor in the air. Jun enhanced the ice with a force field and Jeonghan started preparing another large fireball.

“This is what happens when you fuck with Earth,” Seungcheol said, glaring at Woozi intently. Woozi simply chuckled darkly, flexing his muscles and cracking the ice binding him. He pushed with more force and managed to break through both the ice and Jun’s force field, ducking just as Jeonghan’s fireball impacted the wall. Woozi rushed forward with lighting speed, hitting every ranger like a pinball and knocking them aside with the force of a small truck. Seungcheol crashed to the ground hard, cracking the other part of his visor. He looked up at Vernon who was cowering in the corner, clearly afraid to morph again and help the rest of the team.

“V-Vernon, we need you. You’re a Ranger now, and we can’t do this without all of us together,” Seungcheol said just as Woozi lifted him up and tossed him clear across the room, sending him slamming into the throne and breaking it in half. As he laid there amongst the shattered remains of the throne, trying to gather the energy to stand, he watched Woozi get closer and closer to Vernon.

“So you’re the human that activated the Black Diamond’s power? How unimpressive,” Woozi grabbed Vernon by his shirt collar and pinned him to the wall, “Time to end this,”

Vernon closed his eyes tightly and clenched his fist. The Black Diamond on his wrist glowed brightly and he knew what he had to do…

“Spirit of the Mystic Basilisk!”

With a flash of purple light he was the Black Ranger once more, but this time he was completely in control. He pushed free of Woozi’s grip and punched him as hard as he could, feeling his nose crack beneath his fist. Woozi stumbled backwards, growling in pain. The other six Rangers got back on their feet, rallying around Vernon. As the seven rangers stood together, they felt a surge of energy unlike anything they’d felt before. Each of the rangers began to glow with an aura matching their color, and almost as if it were instinct, they knew exactly what they must do.

“Come on you guys, let’s finish it!” Seungcheol said. Everyone felt the connection with their Mystic Beasts, and just like the ancient Beast War, they unleashed a wave of spirit energy all at once, blasting Woozi with the full force of their combined power. The energy tore through Woozi’s armor and sent him reeling backwards. His skin was singed and he was mostly nude, with only scraps of black fabric covering him. 

“T-this is… impossible,” Woozi struggled to even speak, falling to his knees right next to where his plasma blade had landed, “I cannot… I will not be destroyed by you!”

The Rangers geared up for another attack as Woozi ignited his plasma blade once more, but instead of charging at them, he plunged the white hot blade through his own chest. The blade dissipated and Woozi collapsed, the last words coming out of his mouth in the form of a breathless, choked, “Long live the Dai Empire,”

“Holy shit!” Jun said, shocked as Woozi lay there, completely lifeless.

“That was… not what I was expecting,” Jeonghan said softly, clearly a bit unnerved by the sudden turn of events.

“The fact is, he’s not a threat anymore. We need to tank this ship,” Seungcheol said, moving over to the control panel, “Alright Jun, Joshua, go disconnect the reactor core,”

Jun and Joshua quickly exited the room as Seungcheol took the steering controls, moving the gargantuan ship out from over the city. There was a loud bang as the reactor was disconnected and everything went dark. Seungcheol’s stomach lurched as the ship’s antigravity systems disengaged and it began to fall into the ocean.

“We’ve gotta get out of here! Irene, can you teleport us to safety?” Mingyu asked.

“Hold on Rangers,” 

In seconds, the Rangers were standing on the top of Angel Grove’s tallest building. They cheered excitedly as Woozi’s ship crashed into the ocean, a large portion of it still sticking out of the water’s surface. The few fighter ships still in the air deactivated, falling to the ground in powerless heaps. It was done… the invasion of Earth had been stopped!

“We did it… We actually did it! We are the best superheroes in the history of history!” Mingyu yelled, pulling Jun into the tightest hug ever.

“You have done very well Rangers. The Mystic Beast Spirits chose well when they selected you as defenders of the Earth,” Irene’s voice echoed in their heads.

“I guess that means all of you except me,” Vernon sighed, “I wasn’t chosen for anything,”

“That’s not true Vernon,” Seungcheol said, putting a supportive hand on his little brother’s shoulder, “Things may have gotten off to a bad start, but you’re one of us, and we couldn’t have beaten Woozi without you. I’m sorry I lied to you bro, I should’ve trusted you with my secret,”

“No hard feelings Seungcheol… thank you for saving me,”

“As if I’d just let the Basilisk have you,” Seungcheol and Vernon hugged as the sounds of rescue helicopters filled the air. With the threat over, it was time for the cleanup effort to begin, and the Power Rangers would be at the forefront of it all…

…

It had been three weeks since the invasion was stopped, and while Angel Grove hadn’t been completely repaired, life had resumed for many citizens. School was back in session and it was time for the Angel Grove Prep Homecoming Dance, an event that most students had been looking forward to since the first day of school.

Seungcheol was standing in the back near the snack table, nodding his head along to the music and scanning the dimly lit room for any sign of his date. He smiled to himself when he saw Vernon dancing with Seungkwan in the center of the dance floor. He was nervously adjusting his red tie when a pair of slender hands wrapped around his waist from behind. He gasped, but the scent of designer cologne made the person’s identity quite clear.

“Well, well… would you look at my big strong man. You look damn good in a suit Seungcheol,”

Seungcheol turned to see Jeonghan, looking amazing in a suit that just had to be tailor made for him, complete with a pink rhinestone tie and gorgeous dangling earrings.

“You… you look amazing Hannie,” Seungcheol had to snap himself out of his haze, “Wait, where’s Joshua?” 

“Right here, sorry I’m late,” Joshua said, joining the group, “My mom took forever trying to fix my hair,”

“Well your hair looks perfect Josh,” Jeonghan smiled, “How the hell am I lucky enough to have two super hot dates?”

“I’m glad we agreed to try this polyamory thing, I really think it’s gonna work out great,” Joshua giggled softly.

“Speaking of relationships that are gonna work out great, check it out,” Seungcheol motioned to the door to the activities room where Jun and Minghao were entering, tightly holding hands.

“Hey you guys!” Jun excitedly called as he and Minghao joined the group, “I’ll admit, you all make a great, uh… trio?”

“Where’s Mingyu? Did he find a date?” Minghao wondered.

“I think he was gonna ask out Jeon Wonwoo, the guitarist kid, but I haven’t seen him yet tonight,”

“If I could have everyone’s attention,” Principal Oliver took the main stage, speaking into the microphone, “This year has been an… interesting one so far. We have made it through overwhelming circumstances, and a night of celebration is just what we need. So without further ado, I give you the school’s most popular student band, Cosmic Helix!”

Everyone clapped as the curtain on the stage parted. Seungcheol’s jaw practically touched the floor when he saw Mingyu, smiling widely on stage. He’d heard that the band lost its lead singer, but he had no idea Mingyu had volunteered to take over the spot. He tapped his foot as Wonwoo started playing, filling the space with the sweet sound of his electric guitar. The tune sounded awesome, especially once the bass and drums came in.

“This is dedicated to the defenders of the planet, The Power Rangers!” Mingyu shouted into the microphone, earning a roar of applause from the students in the audience.

Mingyu’s surprisingly awesome singing voice got everyone moving and Seungcheol felt a sense of pride when the words “Go, go Power Rangers,” came up. Mingyu was a cheesy fanboy, but he couldn’t deny the awesomeness of the moment. For something that started so abruptly, it had certainly changed their lives for the better. For a time, Seungcheol was unsure if they were the ones meant to fall into that canyon and find the Gosei Diamonds, but now he was one hundred percent sure.

This was the way things were meant to be.


End file.
